Datasets:

ccdv

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patent-classification

like 17

turning now to the drawings , there is shown in fig1 an integrated circuit continuity testing system in which a specimen or circuit configuration 16 is mounted on a fixture 18 operable to vibrate the specimen under controlled conditions , e . g . sinusoidally , randomly , or a combination of the two . the specific structure of the fixture and the means for vibrating it are known in the art and thus not further discussed . the specimen and fixture are housed in a closed chamber 20 whereby the specimen under test can be subjected to temperature cycling , either alone or in conjunction with the vibration testing . an environmental control apparatus , indicated at 22 , is provided for selectively heating or cooling the chamber interior . a cable 24 electrically connects fixture 18 , and thus specimen 16 , with a continuity testing board 26 . it is to be understood that cable 24 includes a multiplicity of separate electrical connections between fixture 18 and testing board 26 , the details of which are discussed in connection with fig6 and 7 . in general , however , continuity testing board 26 includes a plurality of identical sensing circuits , each of which is electrically connected to one of the test circuits of specimen 16 during continuity testing . a power supply 28 biases each of the sensing circuits to a predetermined positive voltage , for example five volts . a pulse generator 30 is provided to control the timing or frequency of samples in the course of testing . a cable 32 connects continuity testing board 26 with a logic analyzer 34 . again , a multiplicity of separate electrical connections are involved , in this case between each of the sensing circuits on continuity testing board 26 and one of many data storage channels in logic analyzer 34 . further electrical connections between logic analyzer 34 and continuity testing board 26 include a plurality of triggering channels provided to initiate storage of data by the logic analyzer upon recognition of an error condition during testing , and a connection for interaction with pulse generator 30 . an indicator 36 also is electrically connected to logic analyzer 34 . panel 36 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes for providing certain indications to a user of the test system . a computer 38 is connected to logic analyzer 34 through a cable connection 40 . computer 38 contains the software which controls logic analyzer 34 in its acquisition and storage of test data and , if desired , can include an associated disc drive or other memory , as indicated at 42 , for the storage of data to supplement the logic analyzer . further peripheral equipment is connected to the computer and used in the course of testing , including a video display terminal 44 for providing the operator with a visual indication of test results on - line , and a printer 46 for generating a permanent record of the test results . fig2 discloses test specimen 16 in greater detail . while the present invention contemplates testing most any configuration involving a multiplicity of individual circuits , the present test system is particularly well adapted for detecting open circuits in an assembly of semiconductor packages mounted to a printed circuit board , such as printed circuit board 48 to which is mounted a plurality of chip carriers 50 . other multiple circuit devices could be tested as well , e . g . flat packs and dual in - line packages ( dip ). it is known as well to mount semiconductor chips directly to a printed circuit board , and it can be appreciated that individual semiconductor chips or chip carriers of a particularly complex design might be tested individually . parallel or simultaneous testing is accomplished by providing multiple , substantially identical sensing circuits on continuity testing board 26 . one such sensing circuit is indicated at 54 in fig3 and includes a differential amplifier 62 and a nand gate 74 available from fairchild as part of a model 9622 receiver . each sensing circuit further includes a high voltage terminal 56 connected to power supply 28 such that it is biased to a predetermined high voltage , e . g . + 5 volts . high voltage terminal 56 is connected to a common terminal or node 58 through an input resistor 60 . node 58 provides a voltage level , in this case a positive voltage of less than 5 , to the positive input terminal of differential amplifier 62 , and also to a terminal 64 connected to the input of the circuit under test . the output voltage of the circuit under test is provided to a terminal 66 of the sensing circuit , whereby the output voltage is provided through a common terminal or node 68 to the inversion input of differential amplifier 62 ( preferably with good common mode rejection ), and also to ground through an output resistor 70 . it should be noted that the terms &# 34 ; input &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; output &# 34 ; for resistors 60 and 70 are used for convenience . these resistors can , as well , be considered as connected to the outputs of the test circuit and providing the inputs to amplifier 62 . in effect , input resistor 60 , output resistor 70 and the arrangement of the circuit under test and differential amplifier 62 in parallel are combined to provide three resistances in series between high voltage terminal 56 and a low voltage terminal 72 , i . e . ground . the sensing of open or unacceptably resistive test circuits is based upon the difference in voltage at the positive and inversion terminals of the differential amplifier . the differential amplifier is a known logic or digital device which generates one of two alternative logic states : a &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; state or higher voltage output whenever the voltage at the positive terminal exceeds the voltage at the inversion terminal by a characteristic or predetermined threshold ; and a low logical output of voltage whenever the voltage at the positive input does not exceed the voltage at the inversion input by the threshold . differential amplifier 62 is selected for its predetermined threshold voltage level , e . g . approximately 1 . 5 volts . an open or unacceptably resistive test circuit is detected as follows . amplifier 62 is a high resistance or impedance device , such that the resistance of its parallel arrangement with the test circuit essentially equals the resistance of the test circuit itself , a nominal or expected resistance of about 2 ohms . input and output resistors 60 and 70 have a substantially greater resistance , for example 100 ohms each . consequently the voltage drop across the test circuit , i . e . across the comparator inputs , is quite small compared to the voltage drop across each of the resistors , for example less than 0 . 1 volts . thus , when the test circuit provides a short or closed path , the drop in voltage between the comparator inputs is much smaller than the 1 . 5 volt threshold and differential amplifier 62 generates the low logic state . conversely , when the test circuit is open the resistance of the parallel arrangement is many times that of resistors 60 and 70 , to the point where the voltage difference between the comparator inputs exceeds the threshold voltage and causes amplifier 62 to generate the high logic state . amplifier 62 also generates the high logic state when the resistance of the circuit being tested is higher than an acceptable maximum corresponding to the predetermined voltage threshold . in particular , given the threshold of 1 . 5 volts in combination with input and output resistors of 100 ohms , and further assuming that the resistance of amplifier 62 is such that the resistance of the above - discussed parallel combination is essentially equal to the resistance of the test circuit , then a resistance in the test circuit of about 70 ohms or greater will cause amplifier 62 to fire . in practice , the actual threshold voltage may vary , for example between 1 . 2 volts and 1 . 8 volts . such deviation , however , does not interfere with the identification of open circuits in any material respect , since the nominal resistance of the circuits is substantially lower than that required to trigger amplifier 62 , while the resistance of an open circuit is of course substantially higher . the output of all sensing circuits 54 is thus a digital word indicating the conditions of the test circuits . amplifier 62 can be provided with a hysteresis ( positive feedback ) loop with a resistance if desired . this would result in cleaner switching output signals , but also would reduce sensitivity . on occasion , it is desirable in the course of testing to configure sensing circuit 54 to provide a logic state indicating normal operation , in spite of the fact that the circuit under test is open or of a high resistance . this option is provided as nand gate 74 receiving the output of differential amplifier 62 , and with another input connected to high voltage terminal 56 through a resistor 76 of a high resistance , e . g . 10 , 000 ohms . a shunt 78 connects resistor 76 to ground through a switch 80 which normally is open . with switch 80 open , a high input is provided to nand gate 74 . a high input to the nand gate from amplifier 62 as well will generate a logic low output from nand gate 74 , indicating an error condition such as an open circuit . of course , for a closed or short circuit the output of differential amplifier 62 is low and the output of nand gate 74 is high , indicating the normal operating condition . if switch 80 is closed , a low logic state is provided as an input to nand gate 74 , resulting in a high or normal condition output regardless of the input received from the differential amplifier . in short , once an error condition is identified for a particular test circuit , switch 80 can be closed to override the error output . in the multiple circuit arrangement , switches 80 are provided in dip form , each package having a row of switches . normally , the sensitivity of sensing circuit 54 to variations in test circuit resistance can be altered by changing the resistances of input and output resistors 60 and 70 , for example increasing sensitivity to generate the error logic state at a lower resistance value by substituting input and output resistors with lower resistance values . an alternative approach is shown in fig4 namely the addition of a resistor 82 between the output of the test circuit and common node 68 . this has the effect of providing a voltage to the inversion input of differential amplifier 62 somewhat lower than the voltage at the output of the associated test circuit , having the practical effect of reducing the voltage threshold between the differential amplifier inputs . as for decreasing the sensitivity of circuit 54 , one approach of course would be to repace resistors 60 and 70 with resistors of a lower resistance value . the voltage at terminal 56 can be changed , or an amplifier with a different threshold can be employed . fig5 and 6 disclose alternative embodiments of the sensing and triggering circuitry on continuity sensing boards such as board 26 . in fig5 the continuity testing board circuitry includes 124 sensing circuits 54 and 124 data channels or signal paths 86 , each connected to an associated one of the sensing circuits for providing the sensing circuit output to a logic analyzer . the sensing circuits are divided into four substantially identical sets of 31 sensing circuits each , one such set being shown . in addition to its data channel , each of the sensing circuits includes a triggering channel 88 . the triggering channels provide the sensing circuit outputs to a series of nand gates 90 , 92 , 94 and 96 , each accepting up to eight triggering channels . when the logic state of all triggering channels to any one of the nand gates is high , which corresponds to the associated test circuits being closed or the associated switches 80 being closed , then the output of the nand will be the low voltage level logic state . should any one of its inputs be low , the output of nand gate 90 ( for example ) is the high logic state . the output of nand gates 90 - 96 is provided to a nor gate 98 , the output of which is provided to a common triggering channel 100 for the first 31 sensing circuits . if all of the inputs to nor gate 98 are the low logic state , the nor gate output is high . conversely , if an error condition is sensed in any of the first 31 test circuits , the corresponding one of nand gates 92 - 96 provides a high level logic state input to the nor gate which in turn generates the low logic state as its output . thus there are four common triggering channels 100 , any one of which sends a triggering signal to the logic analyzer by shifting from the high to the low voltage logic state . fig6 shows alternative continuity sensing board circuitry accommodating 152 separate sensing circuits 54 . again , each sensing circuit 54 has its own associated data channel 102 for providing the sensing circuit output to the logic analyzer . in this case , however , the sensing circuits are segmented into nineteen substantially identical groups of eight for triggering purposes , the first and last of which are shown , such that there are 19 separate common triggering channels 104 . individual triggering channels 106 of eight sensing circuits are provided as inputs to a nand gate 108 , with the output of the nand gate provided directly to the common triggering channel . consequently , if all sensing circuit outputs are the high logic state corresponding to closed circuits or switches 80 , the output of each nand gate 108 is the low logic state . the nand gate of course generates the high voltage logic state should any of its inputs be low , and thus the triggering signal for each of the 19 triggering channels 104 is a shift from the lower logic level to the high logic level . fig7 shows a practical working embodiment in which three test assemblies or specimens , including a 4 inch by 6 inch printed circuit board 110 and two 6 inch by 9 inch printed circuit boards 112 and 114 along with semiconductor packages mounted on each , are tested simultaneously . while this system operates using ttl logic , it should be noted that ecl or cmos logic could be employed as a substitute . pcb 112 is a &# 34 ; single - sided &# 34 ; printed circuit board assembly , while test board 114 is double - sided , having twice the number of test circuits . the printed circuit board assemblies are mounted to respective fixtures 116 , 118 and 120 , with the assemblies and fixtures housed within a test chamber 122 and supported on a vibrational table 124 . a twisted pair cable 126 connects the respective input and output terminals of the test circuits with their associated comparator inputs for each of the sensing circuits of continuity sensing board 128 configured as shown in fig6 . in a similar fashion , twisted pair cables 130 and 132 connect test assemblies 112 and 114 and continuity sensing boards 134 and 136 , which are configured as shown in fig5 . the output of each continuity sensing board , including the data channels and common triggering channels , is provided to a logic analyzer , in particular logic analyzers 138 , 140 and 142 associated with continuity sensing boards 128 , 134 and 136 , respectively . in the arrangement shown , the logic analyzers are model 2100u interactive state analyzers available from northwest instrument systems , inc . of beaverton , oreg . each of the analyzers can receive up to 80 parallel channels of synchronous data , with each channel having a memory of up to 4 , 096 bits . logic analyzers 138 and 140 are connected , and thus together handle the collective input provided by continuity sensing boards 128 and 134 . logic analyzer 142 is associated only with continuity sensing board 136 . ribbon cables 144 and 146 connect a computer 148 to logic analyzers 138 and 140 , while a ribbon cable 150 joins logic analyzer 142 and a computer 152 . computers 148 and 152 in this arrangement can be ibm at personal computers or compatible computers . each of computers 148 and 152 contains the software necessary for operating its associated logic analyzer or analyzers . the software enables each of logic analyzers 138 - 142 to store data only after receiving a storage command or triggering signal from its associated one of the continuity sensing boards . an indicator panel 154 is connected to logic analyzers 138 - 142 respectively through lines 156 , 158 and 160 . indicator panel 154 includes three light emitting diodes ( led &# 39 ; s ) 162 , 164 and 166 triggered responsive to the sensing of error condition logic analyzers 138 , 140 and 142 respectively . a button for resetting the indicator led &# 39 ; s is provided at 167 . a power supply 168 is connected to each of continuity sensing boards 128 , 134 and 136 , and biases the high voltage terminals 56 of the sensing circuits to a positive five volts or other predetermined high voltage level . a grounding terminal of the power supply also is connected to the sensing boards , in particular to the low voltage terminals 72 of the sensing circuits . pulse generators at 170 , 172 and 174 are incorporated into the circuitry of each of the sensing boards to control the rate at which the data channel and common triggering channel outputs are provided to the associated logic analyzers . a sampling frequency of 10 , 000 , 000 pulses per second ( i . e . a 100 nanosecond interval between pulses ) has been found desirable . in the course of using the testing system , the operator first loads each printed circuit board assembly into its appropriate fixture , encloses the loaded fixtures within chamber 122 , and selects the appropriate mode of testing , whether temperature cycling , vibration , or both . the operator then activates the power supply and other components through computers 148 and 152 . at 100 nanosecond intervals , as controlled by pulse generators 170 - 174 , the logic state at each of the sensing circuit outputs and each of the common triggering circuits , is provided to logic analyzers 138 - 142 . however , as long as no open or abnormally highly resistive circuits are indicated , the logic analyzers do not store the data . as soon as any of the circuits is identified as open or highly resistive , the appropriate triggering circuit delivers a changed logic level to its associated logic analyzer , and this change in logic state comprises a storage command or triggering signal , whereupon the logic analyzer begins storing data received in all of its channels . the appropriate one of led &# 39 ; s 162 - 166 is activated to indicate an error condition has been found , and the associated one of computers 148 and 152 displays on its video terminal the error condition . the data stored in the associated logic analyzer can be displayed by the operator if desired . when the memory channels of the logic analyzer are full , no further data can be stored on the logic analyzer . at this point , the operator has the option of utilizing backup storage , for example a disc drive associated with the corresponding computer , and to either continue the test without further adjustment or close the switch 80 associated with the identified circuit and continue testing . override switches 80 thus provide the option of proceeding with the test to locate other open or highly resistant circuits , without a continual loading and unloading of the associated logic analyzer due solely to the particular circuit first indicating an error . of course , if it is desired that the logic analyzer capacity represent a longer period of time , the sampling frequency can be reduced , for example to an interval of one microsecond between pulses . this is accomplished by changing the pulse rate of pulse generators . thus , the test apparatus is capable of identifying not only permanently open circuits , but circuits exhibiting intermittent open behavior under adverse temperature cycling or vibration . the record of the intermittent failure facilitates an analysis of why it occurred , since the permanent record of the failure , on a printout or the like , can be identified with a particular time during the temperature or vibration test cycle . given the simultaneous testing of all channels and the short interval between test pulses , intermittent behavior on the order of a few hundred nanoseconds can be detected . further , the simple and direct connection of the test circuit input and output in parallel with a differential amplifier , and the use of the differential amplifier output to generate one of two logic states as opposed to an analog response , provides a simple , rapid and reliable means for detecting open or highly resistive circuits .

6Physics

deployment mechanisms that are configured for use with multi - functional surgical instruments that are operable in bipolar and / or monopolar modes of operation may prove useful in the surgical arena , and such deployment mechanisms are described herein . specifically , the deployment mechanisms described herein include one or more linkage configurations that , when actuated , move a monopolar electrode of the electrosurgical forceps from a retracted configuration to a deployed configuration to electrosurgically treat tissue . fig1 - 4 illustrate a forceps 10 that includes a deployment mechanism 28 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure . the forceps 10 is configured to operate in both a bipolar mode , e . g ., for grasping , treating , coagulating and / or sealing tissue , and a monopolar mode , e . g ., for treating and / or dissecting tissue , although other configurations are also contemplated . briefly , the forceps 10 includes an outer fixed shaft 12 defining a longitudinal axis “ a - a ,” a housing 14 , a handle assembly 16 , a trigger assembly 18 ( only shown in fig1 ), a rotating assembly 20 , an end effector assembly 22 , and a monopolar assembly that includes an outer sleeve 24 and an energizable rod member 26 ( the energizable rod 26 is shown in fig5 b ). for a more detailed description of the forceps 10 and operative components associated therewith , reference is made to commonly - owned u . s . patent application ser . no . 14 / 047 , 474 . the deployment mechanism 28 includes a lever 30 that is positioned within the housing 14 ( fig2 and 3 ). the lever 30 includes a thumb paddle 32 that is operable by a user from left and / or right exterior side surfaces 14 a , 14 b , respectively , of the housing 14 . in the illustrated embodiment , the thumb paddle 32 is disposed within opposing recesses 34 ( fig1 and 4 ) defined on the left and right exterior side surfaces 14 a , 14 b of the housing 14 . the thumb paddle 32 may be positioned on only one of the left or right sides side surfaces 14 a , 14 b of the housing 14 . the thumb paddle 32 is movable within the recesses 34 relative to the housing 14 from a first configuration ( fig2 ) to second configuration ( fig1 , 3 , and 4 ). in fig1 , the paddle 32 is shown between the first and second configurations . referring to fig2 and 3 , a bottom portion 36 of the lever 30 is pivotably coupled to a proximal end 38 of the fixed outer shaft 12 adjacent a spring cartridge 40 of a drive assembly 42 of the forceps 10 . the bottom portion 36 pivots about the outer fixed shaft 12 when the lever 30 is moved between the first and second configurations . an upper portion 44 of the lever 30 pivotably couples to a linkage 46 via one or more suitable coupling methods , e . g . a pin , rivet or the like ( not explicitly shown ). continuing with reference to fig2 and 3 , the linkage 46 includes a first link member 46 a and a second link member 46 b . a proximal end 48 of the first link member 46 a pivotably couples to the upper portion 44 of the lever 30 via one of the aforementioned coupling members ( e . g ., a pin , rivet , or the like .). a distal end 50 of the first link member 46 a couples to a proximal end 52 of the second link member 46 b via a pivot 54 ( e . g ., a pivot pin 54 ). the pivot pin 54 is slidably disposed within an elongated slot 56 defined in an interior wall 58 of the housing 14 ( as best seen in fig3 ). the elongated slot 56 has a slight curvature adjacent its distal end and extends distally into a tapered distal end of the housing 14 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 4 , the first link member 46 a also includes a slight curvature adjacent its distal end , which facilitates sliding the first link member 46 a within the elongated slot 56 . when the thumb paddle 32 of the lever 30 is moved from the first configuration to the second configuration , the pivot pin 54 is slid into position at a distal end of the elongated slot 56 ( fig3 ) which allows the proximal end 52 of the second link member 46 b to pivot about the pivot pin 54 and move a distal end 60 of the second link member 46 b distally . the distal end 60 of the second link member 46 b couples to a collar 62 via a pivot pin 64 . the collar 62 is operably coupled to a proximal end 66 of the outer insulative sleeve 24 of the monopolar assembly of the forceps 10 . when the proximal end 52 of the second link member 46 b pivots about the pivot pin 54 , the distal end 60 of the second link member 46 b moves distally , which , in turn , moves the collar 62 and the outer insulative sleeve 24 distally thereby covering a pair of jaw members 21 , 23 of the end effector assembly 22 , as will be described in detail below . the outer insulative sleeve 24 is slidably disposed about outer fixed shaft 12 and is configured for translation about and relative to the outer fixed shaft 12 between a fully retracted configuration ( fig2 and 5a ) and a fully deployed configuration ( fig3 , 4 , and 5 b ). in the retracted configuration , the outer insulative sleeve 24 is disposed proximal of the end effector assembly 22 , and in the deployed configuration , the outer insulative sleeve 24 is disposed about the end effector assembly 22 to substantially cover the jaw members 21 , 23 . referring to fig5 a and 5b , the energizable rod member 26 is coupled to the outer insulative sleeve 24 such that advancement of the outer insulative sleeve 24 between the retracted and deployed configurations and advancement of energizable rod member 26 between the retracted and deployed configurations are effected concurrently or near concurrently , via actuation of the lever 30 . energizable rod member 26 is coupled to a source of energy for providing energy to a distal tip 25 of the energizable rod member 26 , e . g ., upon actuation of an activation switch 68 ( fig1 - 4 ) in a monopolar mode of operation , for treating tissue using monopolar energy . as discussed above , the forceps 10 is operable in both the bipolar mode , e . g ., for grasping , treating , coagulating , sealing and / or cutting tissue , and the monopolar mode , e . g ., for electrosurgical tissue treatment . in use , with respect to either mode of operation , initially , forceps 10 is manipulated such that end effector assembly 22 is positioned and oriented as desired within a surgical site . in the bipolar mode , the outer insulative sleeve 24 and energizable rod member 26 of the monopolar assembly remain disposed in the retracted configuration , as shown in fig2 and 5a . with the jaw members 21 , 23 of the end effector assembly 22 disposed in the spaced - apart configuration , the end effector assembly 22 may be maneuvered into position such that tissue to be grasped and treated is disposed between jaw members 21 , 23 . next , the movable handle 17 ( fig1 ) of the handle assembly 16 is actuated , or pulled proximally relative to a fixed handle 15 ( fig1 ) such that jaw member 21 is pivoted relative to jaw member 23 from the spaced - apart configuration to the approximated configuration to grasp tissue therebetween , as shown in fig5 a . in this approximated configuration , energy may be selectively supplied , e . g ., via activation switch 68 , to tissue - sealing plates ( not explicitly shown ) of the jaw members 21 , 23 and conducted through tissue to effect a tissue seal or otherwise treat tissue . with respect to the monopolar mode of operation , the movable handle 17 is first depressed relative to fixed handle 15 to pivot jaw member 21 relative to jaw member 23 from the spaced - apart configuration to the approximated configuration . once jaw members 21 , 23 are disposed in the approximated configuration , the thumb paddle 32 of the lever 30 is moved from the first configuration to the second configuration , thereby urging the first and second link members 46 a , 46 b distally . distal translation of the first and second link members 46 a , 46 b , in turn , translates the collar 36 distally through the housing 14 . distal translation of the collar 36 moves the outer insulative sleeve 24 of the monopolar assembly distally over the end effector assembly 22 and moves the energizable rod member 26 distally such that the distal tip 25 of energizable rod member 26 extends distally from both the end effector assembly 22 and the outer insulative sleeve 24 ( fig5 b ). with the distal tip 25 of the energizable rod 26 disposed in the deployed configuration , the activation switch 68 of the forceps 10 may be selectively actuated to supply energy to the distal tip 25 of energizable rod member 26 for electrosurgically treating tissue . the distal tip 25 may also be used in a mechanical fashion depending upon the shape of the distal tip 25 . the deployment mechanism 28 described herein for use with the forceps 10 is easy to operate and inexpensive to manufacture when compared to the aforementioned conventional deployment mechanisms , as the deployment mechanism 28 is not interconnected with the handle assembly 16 , rotation assembly 20 and / or the trigger assembly 18 of the forceps 10 . from the foregoing and with reference to the various figure drawings , those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain modifications can also be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the same . for example , other linkage configurations may be used to move the outer sleeve 24 including the energizable rod 26 between the retracted and deployed configurations . referring now to fig6 - 9 , a forceps 110 that includes a deployment mechanism 128 according an embodiment of the instant disclosure is shown . for clarity , the forceps 110 is shown without the rotation assembly , the movable handle assembly , trigger assembly , and the end effector assembly . the deployment mechanism 128 is similar to the deployment mechanism 28 , thus only those features unique to the deployment mechanism 128 are described herein . a lever 130 having a generally elongated configuration may be positioned on the left ( not shown ) and / or right sides 114 a of the housing 114 . for illustrative purposes , the lever 130 is shown positioned on the right side 114 a of the housing 114 . the lever 130 is configured to allow a user to selectively move the lever 130 between the first and second configurations to effect movement of an outer insulative sleeve 124 including an energizable rod , e . g ., energizable rod 26 . an axle 131 supports the lever 130 and extends through an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) defined through the housing 114 . the axle 131 is rotatable with respect to the housing 114 and connects the lever 130 to a linkage 146 including a first link member 146 a , a second link member 146 b , and a third link member 146 c . the first link member 146 a includes an aperture defined therein at a bottom end thereof ( not explicitly shown ) configured to receive the axle 131 . first link member 146 a is bifurcated and includes opposing finger portions 147 a , 147 b that extend from the bottom end of the first link member 146 a and define an opening 148 therebetween configured to receive the outer insulative sleeve 124 ( fig8 ). the opening 148 allows the outer insulative sleeve 124 to translate between the opposing finger portions 147 a , 147 b when the lever 130 is moved between the first and second configurations . the second link member 146 b includes an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) at a distal end 150 thereof that , along with apertures ( not explicitly shown ) defined through top portions of the opposing finger portions 147 a , 147 b , are configured to receive a pivot pin 164 . the pivot pin 164 connects the distal end 150 of the second link member 146 b to the opposing finger portions 147 a , 147 b of the first link member 146 a . the second link member 146 b includes at its proximal end an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) defined therein that , along with apertures ( not explicitly shown ) defined through opposing finger portions 149 a , 149 b of the third link member 146 c , are configured to receive a pivot pin 166 . the pivot pin 166 connects the proximal end of the second link member 146 b to the opposing finger portions 149 a , 149 b of the third link member 146 c . the third link member 146 c includes a detent 154 at a top end thereof that is rotatably seated within a corresponding indent ( not explicitly shown ) defined within an interior wall portion 158 of the housing 114 . this indent and detent configuration allows the third link member 146 c to rotate in relation to the interior wall 158 of the housing 114 when the lever 130 is moved between the first and second configurations . a pair of elongated slots 160 a , 160 b are defined through the opposing finger portions 149 a , 149 b of the third link member 146 c and are configured receive a pivot pin 168 positioned on the outer insulative sleeve 124 . the pivot pin 168 couples to the proximal end of the outer insulative sleeve 124 and extends transversely in relation to the longitudinal axis “ a - a .” in use , once the jaw members 21 , 23 are disposed in the approximated configuration , the lever 130 is moved from the first configuration to the second configuration , thereby urging the first , second , and third link members 146 a , 146 b , 146 c distally . distal translation of the first , second , and third link members 146 a , 146 b , 146 c , in turn , moves the outer insulative sleeve 124 and the energizable rod member 126 in a manner as described above with respect to the outer insulative sleeve 24 and the energizable rod member 26 ( see fig9 ). fig1 - 12 illustrate a forceps 210 that includes a deployment mechanism 228 according yet another embodiment of the instant disclosure . deployment mechanism 228 is similar to deployment mechanism 128 and , accordingly , only those features unique to the deployment mechanism 228 are described herein . a lever 230 having a generally elongated configuration is disposed on the left and / or right sides of the housing 214 . for illustrative purposes , the lever 230 is shown for actuation from the right side of the housing 214 . the lever 230 is configured to allow a user to move the lever 230 between the first and second configurations to effect movement of an outer insulative sleeve 224 including an energizable rod , e . g ., the energizable rod 26 . the lever 230 includes an axle 231 at a top end thereof that extends through an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) defined through the housing 214 . the axle 231 is rotatable with respect to the housing 214 and connects the lever 230 to a linkage assembly 246 including a first link member 246 a , a second link member 246 b , and a third link member 246 c . referring to fig1 , the first link member 246 a includes a body portion 247 having a cylindrical configuration . the body portion 247 rotatably seats within a corresponding cylindrical aperture ( not explicitly shown ) defined within an interior wall portion 258 of the housing 214 . the body portion 247 includes an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) that receives the axle 231 of the lever 230 to secure the lever 230 to the body portion 247 of the first link member 246 a . the body portion 247 also includes a flange 249 that is positioned between opposing wall portions 248 a , 248 b provided at a distal end of the second link member 246 b . the opposing wall portions 248 a , 248 b have apertures ( not explicitly shown ) that , along with an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) defined through the flange 249 , receive a pivot pin 264 that connects the wall portions 248 a , 248 b of the second link member 246 b to the flange 249 of the first link member 246 a . the second link member 246 b includes an aperture ( not explicitly shown ) at a proximal end thereof that , along with apertures ( not explicitly shown ) defined through opposing finger portions 251 a , 251 b of the third link member 246 c , receive a pivot pin 266 that connects the proximal end of the second link member 246 b to the opposing finger portions 251 a , 251 b of the third link member 246 c . the third link member 246 c includes a detent 254 at a top end thereof that couples to a corresponding indent ( not explicitly shown ) defined within the interior wall portion 258 of the housing 214 . this indent and detent configuration allows the third link member 246 c to rotate in relation to the interior wall 258 of the housing 214 when the lever 230 is moved between the first and second configurations . elongated slots 260 a , 260 b are defined through the opposing finger portions 251 a , 251 b of the third link member 246 c and are configured to receive a pivot pin 268 disposed on the outer insulative sleeve 224 . the pivot pin 268 couples to a proximal end of the outer insulative sleeve 224 and extends transversely in relation to the longitudinal axis “ a - a .” in use , once the jaw members 21 , 23 are disposed in the approximated configuration , the lever 230 is moved from the first configuration to the second configuration , thereby urging the first , second , and third link members 246 a , 246 b , 246 c distally . distal translation of the first , second , and third link members 246 a , 246 b , 246 c , in turn , moves the outer insulative sleeve 224 and of the energizable rod member 26 in a manner as described above with respect to the outer insulative sleeve 24 and the energizable rod member 26 . it is noted that the aforementioned advantages described with respect to the deployment mechanism 28 configured for use with the forceps 10 are attainable also with the deployment mechanisms 128 , 228 . the various embodiments disclosed herein may also be configured to work with robotic surgical systems and what is commonly referred to as “ telesurgery ”. such systems employ various robotic elements to assist the surgeon in the operating theatre and allow remote operation ( or partial remote operation ) of surgical instrumentation . various robotic arms , gears , cams , pulleys , electric and mechanical motors , etc . may be employed for this purpose and may be designed with a robotic surgical system to assist the surgeon during the course of an operation or treatment . such robotic systems may include , remotely steerable systems , automatically flexible surgical systems , remotely flexible surgical systems , remotely articulating surgical systems , wireless surgical systems , modular or selectively configurable remotely operated surgical systems , etc . the robotic surgical systems may be employed with one or more consoles that are next to the operating theater or located in a remote location . in this instance , one team of surgeons or nurses may prep the patient for surgery and configure the robotic surgical system with one or more of the instruments disclosed herein while another surgeon ( or group of surgeons ) remotely control the instruments via the robotic surgical system . as can be appreciated , a highly skilled surgeon may perform multiple operations in multiple locations without leaving his / her remote console which can be both economically advantageous and a benefit to the patient or a series of patients . the robotic arms of the surgical system are typically coupled to a pair of master handles by a controller . the handles can be moved by the surgeon to produce a corresponding movement of the working ends of any type of surgical instrument ( e . g ., end effectors , graspers , knifes , scissors , etc .) which may complement the use of one or more of the embodiments described herein . the movement of the master handles may be scaled so that the working ends have a corresponding movement that is different , smaller or larger , than the movement performed by the operating hands of the surgeon . the scale factor or gearing ratio may be adjustable so that the operator can control the resolution of the working ends of the surgical instrument ( s ). the master handles may include various sensors to provide feedback to the surgeon relating to various tissue parameters or conditions , e . g ., tissue resistance due to manipulation , cutting or otherwise treating , pressure by the instrument onto the tissue , tissue temperature , tissue impedance , etc . as can be appreciated , such sensors provide the surgeon with enhanced tactile feedback simulating actual operating conditions . the master handles may also include a variety of different actuators for delicate tissue manipulation or treatment further enhancing the surgeon &# 39 ; s ability to mimic actual operating conditions . while several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings , it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto , as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise . therefore , the above description should not be construed as limiting , but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments . those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto .

0Human Necessities

now , first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description of the drawings in the first and second embodiment , identical or similar constituents are designated by identical or similar reference numerals . fig1 is a view showing a wireless transceiver device according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , this embodiment includes a data processor 1 , a data transceiver 2 , a rf ( radio frequency ) unit 3 , and an antenna 4 . the data transceiver 2 includes a transmitter 5 and a receiver 6 . the data processor 1 is connected to the transceiver 2 . the data transceiver 2 is connected to the rf unit 3 . the rf unit 3 is connected to the antenna 4 . the data processor 1 is a circuit for processing digital format data , such as a digital processor or a dedicated communication chip . the transmitter 5 of the transceiver 2 is a circuit for converting digital format data inputted from the data processor 1 into data with a format suitable for wireless communication and outputting the data to the rf unit 3 as a transmission signal . meanwhile , the receiver 6 of the transceiver 2 is a circuit for converting received data inputted from the rf unit 3 into digital format data and outputting the data to the digital processor 1 . the transmitter 5 and the receiver 6 will be described later in detail . the rf unit 3 is a circuit for processing a carrier wave for wireless communication . this is the circuit for superposing the transmission signal inputted from the transmitter 5 on the carrier wave and outputting the signal to the antenna 4 , for example . meanwhile , this is the circuit for removing a carrier wave component from data received from the antenna 4 and outputting the data to the receiver 6 , for example . next , the transmitter 5 will be described with reference to fig2 . fig2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the transmitter 5 . as shown in fig2 , the transmitter 5 includes a serial - parallel converter 10 , an encoder 11 , code selectors 12 , spreaders 13 , and an inverse fast fourier transformer 14 . the serial - parallel converter 10 is connected to the data processor 1 , the encoder 11 , and the spreaders 13 . when this first embodiment is applied to the bpsk modulation , the serial - parallel converter 10 rearranges binary information bit series data with a serial format and outputs the data as parallel format data . the binary information bit series are one - bit code series such as a sequence consisting of 0 and 1 . first , in this embodiment , binary information bit series data having a predetermined number of bits equal to n are inputted from the data processor 1 to the serial - parallel converter 10 . certainly this method is varying with modulation method ( qpsk , for example ), vary with modulation method . this n is a value calculated by n = k *( q + 1 )+( n − k ). the k is a number of blocks of bit series i to be described later . the q is a number of bits contained in each block in the bit series i . the n corresponds to n of ( n , k ) rs codes to be described later . moreover , the number of orthogonal codes is determined in response to the q value . for example , when n = 16 bit , q = 3 and n = 7 , code selector number k is decided as 3 . it is because that there are code selectors need for parity symbol . on the other hand , in current system , n is equal to k *( q + 1 ). so , when q = 3 , code selector number is 3 . when q = 4 , code selector number is 4 as well . next , the parallel format data will be described . the serial - parallel converter 10 divides the inputted n bits of data into n sets of beat groups a ( a = a 0 to a n - 1 ) and the bit series i which are equivalent to the remaining bits after subtracting the n sets of beat groups from the n and outputs the data . each of the beat groups ranging from a 0 to a n - 1 has one bit . accordingly , the bit series i have ( n - n ) bits . meanwhile , the beat groups ranging from a 0 to a n - 1 are outputted to the spreaders 13 . the bit series i are outputted to the encoder 11 . the bit series i are divided into a predetermined number of blocks equal to k . moreover , each block has a predetermined number of bits equal to q . meanwhile each single bit in the bit series i is indicated by i s , t . here , the s indicates the block and the t indicates a bit number in the block . the s is any of the numbers ranging from 0 to k − 1 . the t is any of the numbers ranging from 0 to q − 1 . the encoder 11 executes error correction coding on the bit series i outputted from the serial - parallel converter 10 and outputs the data to the code selectors 12 as parity series b ( b = b 0 to b n - 1 ). in this embodiment , rs ( reed - solomon ) coding on ( n = 2 q , k ) configured to perform correction on the symbol basis is applied to error correction coding . here , the symbol refers to a cluster of a predetermined number of bits . the n represents the number of symbols to be transmitted while the k represents the number of information symbols out of the symbols to be transmitted . in this case , the maximum error correction number e of ( n , k ) rs codes satisfies e =( n − k )/ 2 . that is , it is possible to correct symbols errors up to e pieces . there are n pieces of the code selectors 12 in total and any one of b 0 to b n - 1 out of the n pieces of the parity series b outputted from the encoder 11 is inputted to each of the code selectors 12 . each of the code selectors 12 selects an orthogonal code corresponding to the value of the parity series b and outputs the code as an orthogonal code c ( c = c 0 to c n - 1 ) corresponding to any one of b 0 to b n - 1 . here , the orthogonal codes are numbers uniquely determined in response to inputs of the bits , which are binary information bit series having the number of bits equal to 2 q prepared in advance in this embodiment . any one of the orthogonal codes c ( c = c 0 to c n - 1 ) and any one of the beat groups ( a = a 0 to a n - 1 ) are inputted to and diffused in each of the spreaders 13 , and the data are outputted as diffused data x ( x = x 0 to x n - 1 ). the diffused data x are modulated by using any one of frequencies out of n sub pieces of sub - carriers and are then outputted . all the diffused data x ranging from x 0 to xn - 1 are inputted from n pieces of the spreaders 13 to the inverse fast fourier transformer 14 , and the inverse fast fourier transformer 14 executes inverse fast fourier transform and outputs a single transmission signal to the rf unit . as described above , the transmitter 5 firstly divides the n bits of the binary information series data into the beat groups a ( a = a 0 to a n - 1 ) and the bit series i ( i = i 0 , 0 to i k - 1 , q - 1 ). next , the transmitter 5 executes error correction coding on the bit series i and outputs the parity bit series b ( b = b 0 to b n - 1 ). then , one of 2 q pieces of the orthogonal codes is selected for the parity bit series b and is outputted as the orthogonal code c ( c = c 0 to c n - 1 ). next , the orthogonal code c and the beat groups a are diffused and outputted as the diffused data x ( x = x 0 to x n - 1 ). then , the diffused data x are subjected to inverse fast fourier transform and the transmission signal is outputted . above mentioned embodiment is applied for multi - carrier system ( for example , ofdm ), furthermore , it is also possible to be applied for multi - code system . in multi - code system , inverse fast fourier transformer 14 becomes summation , and fast fourier transformer 20 becomes serial to parallel converter . next , the receiver 6 will be described with reference to fig3 and fig4 . fig3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the receiver 6 . fig4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a correlator 21 . as shown in fig3 , the receiver 6 includes a fast fourier transformer 20 , correlators 21 , a decoder 22 , and a parallel - serial converter 23 . as shown in fig4 , the correlator 21 further includes sub - correlators 25 and a data converter 26 . the fast fourier transformer 20 is connected to the rf unit 3 and the correlators 21 . the fast fourier transformer 20 executes fast fourier transform on received data , outputted from the rf unit 3 and outputs n pieces of data x ( x = x 0 to x n - 1 ) to the correlators 21 . the correlators 21 are connected to the fast fourier transformer 20 , the decoder 22 , and the parallel - serial converter 23 . first , one of the data x outputted from the fast fourier transformer 20 is inputted to each of the correlators 21 . the correlator 21 executes inverse diffusion and outputs a soft decision series b ( b = b 0 , 0 to b n - 1 , q - 1 ), which is the most likely bit series used for code selection at the time of transmission , to the decoder 22 . this inverse diffusion is to output the bit series from the orthogonal code on the contrary to the above - described code selector 12 . procedures of this inverse diffusion are as follows . first , all correlations between the inputted data x and the orthogonal codes are calculated . then , the bit series is outputted as the soft decision series b by use of the orthogonal bit having the highest correlation . next , the correlator 21 restore a decoded beat group a ( a = a 0 to a n - 1 ) by use of one of the data x and a correction parity series e ( e = e 0 , 0 to e n - 1 , q - 1 ), and outputs the data to the parallel - serial converter 23 . this correction parity series e will be described later in detail . the decoder 22 is connected to the correlators 21 and the parallel - serial converter 23 . the decoder 22 executes decoding on error correction codes by use of the soft decision series b outputted from the correlators 21 and outputs decoded bit series i ( i = i 0 , 0 to i n - 1 , q - 1 ) and the correction parity series e ( e = e 0 , 0 to e n - 1 , q - 1 ). the decoded bit series i are outputted to the parallel - serial converter 23 . meanwhile , the correction parity series e are recursively outputted to the correlators 21 . the correction parity series e ( e = e 0 , 0 to e n - 1 , q - 1 ) are values obtained by subjecting the decoded bit series i to rs coding . specifically , though the soft decision series b may contain errors , such errors are corrected in the correction parity series e and the correction parity series e are likely to be more accurate values than the soft decision series b . therefore , when restoring the decoded beat groups a , it is possible to improve a probability of restoring more accurate values by using the correction parity series e instead of using the soft decision series b . the decoded bit series i outputted from the decoder 22 and the decoded beat groups a outputted from the correlators 21 are inputted to the parallel - serial converter 23 in parallel . the data are outputted to the data processor 1 as serial data and the binary information bit series are restored therefrom . as described above , the receiver 6 executes fast fourier transform on the received signal and divides the signal into n pieces of the data x ( x = x 0 to x n - 1 ). then , the receiver 6 executes inverse diffusion on the data x and outputs the soft decision series b ( b = b 0 , 0 to b n - 1 , q - 1 ) used for code selection . next , the receiver 6 subjects the soft decision series b to decoding of the error correction signals and outputs the decoded bit series i ( i = i 0 , 0 to i n - 1 , q - 1 ) and the correction parity series e ( e = e 0 , 0 to e n - 1 , q - 1 ). then , the receiver 6 outputs the decoded beat groups a by utilizing the correlations between the recursively - used correction parity series e and the data x . next , the receiver 6 restores the binary information bit series by use of the decoded bit series i and the decoded beat groups a . in this embodiment , the encoder 11 carries out error correction coding before code selection by the code selectors 12 at the time of transmission . accordingly , it is possible to correct errors of code selection at the time of reception and thereto achieve accurate reception . for example , even when an error of a transmission signal may occur due to a characteristic of a communication path in wireless communication , it is possible to correct such an error at the time of reception . meanwhile , when transmitted data have a large number of bits , code selection errors at the time of reception may lead to errors of received data . however , this embodiment can correct such errors as well . moreover , this embodiment is configured to use the beat groups and is able to reduce the papr as compared to a configuration not using the beat groups . to be more precise , assuming that input data consist of 16 bits and that the number of sub - carriers is equal to the papr , the papr is equal to 16 in a typical multi - carrier system ( ofdm ). in this embodiment , since there are seven cs blocks , the papr is 7 . thus , the papr is reduced from 16 to 7 . meanwhile , in comparison with the conventional cs / cdma method having four cs blocks , the papr becomes equal to 4 in the conventional cs / cdma method . although the papr is slightly increased in comparison with the conventional cs / cdma method , this embodiment has an effect to improve a ber ( bit error rate ). as described above , this embodiment can improve the ber while moderating the increase in the papr . next , a concrete example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to fig5 and fig6 . fig5 shows a configuration of the transmitter 5 in the case where the encoder 11 applies ( 7 , 3 ) rs coding . fig6 shows a configuration of the receiver 6 corresponding to the transmitter in fig5 . as shown in fig5 , the number of sub - carriers n sub is equal to 7 . the input data consist of 16 bits ranging from d 0 to d 15 . first , an operation at the time of transmission will be described . the serial - parallel converter 10 divides the input data into the bit series i and the beat groups a corresponding to d 0 = i 0 , 0 , d 1 = i 0 , 1 , d 2 = i 0 , 2 , d 3 = i 1 , 0 , d 4 = i 1 , 1 , d 5 = i 1 , 2 , d 6 = i 2 , 0 , d 7 = i 2 , 1 , d 8 = i 2 , 2 , d 9 = a 0 , d 10 = a 1 , d 11 = a 2 , d 12 = a 3 , d 13 = d 14 = a 5 , and d 16 = a 6 . that is , the bit series i are divided into three groups each having 3 bits so as to correspond to i 0 =( i 0 , 0 , i 0 , 1 , i 0 , 2 ), i 1 =( i 1 , 0 , i 1 , 1 , i 1 , 2 ), and i 2 =( i 2 , 0 , i 2 , 1 , i 2 , 2 ,). the beat groups a are divided into 7 pieces in total ranging from a 0 to a 6 . next , the encoder 11 executes ( 7 , 3 ) rs encoding on the bit series i and outputs data having 7 transmission symbols for 3 information symbols . specifically , the parity series including b 0 = i 0 , b 1 = i 1 , b 2 = i 2 , b 3 = p 3 , b 4 = p 4 , b 6 = p 5 , and b 6 = p 6 are outputted according to the three bit series i 0 , i 1 , and i 2 . here , p 3 to p 6 are added symbols . next , the code selectors 12 select the orthogonal codes c by use of the parity series b . an orthogonal code having 2 3 = 8 bits is selected for three bits of b 0 and is outputted as the orthogonal code c 0 . similarly , c 1 is outputted for b 1 , c 1 is outputted for b 1 , c 2 is outputted for b 2 , c 3 is outputted for b 3 , c 4 is outputted for b 4 , c 5 is outputted for b 5 , and c 0 is outputted for b 6 ,. next , the spreaders 13 diffuse the orthogonal codes c and the beat groups a and output the diffused data x . for the c 0 having 8 bits , the diffused data x 0 having the same 8 bits are outputted . similarly , x 1 are outputted for c 1 , x 2 are outputted for c 2 , x 3 are outputted for c 3 , x 4 are outputted for c 4 , x 5 are outputted for c 5 , and x 6 are outputted for c 0 . next , the inverse fast fourier transformer 14 executes inverse fast fourier transform on the diffused data x and outputs the data as a single transmission signal . subsequently , an operation at the time of reception will be described . the fast fourier transformer 20 executes fast fourier transform on the received signal and divides the signal into 7 pieces of the data x . each piece of the data x has 8 bits . next , the data x are inputted to the correlators 21 and the soft decision series b are outputted therefrom . here , the soft decision series b 0 having 3 bits is outputted for x 0 having 8 bits . similarly , b 1 is outputted for x 1 , b 1 is outputted for x 1 , b 2 is outputted for x 2 , b 3 is outputted for x 3 , b 4 is outputted for x 4 , b 5 is outputted for x 5 , and b 6 is outputted for x 6 . next , the decoder 22 executes decoding on the soft decision series b and outputs the decoded bit series i and the correction parity series e . here , three groups of the decoded bit series i and seven groups of the correction parity series e are outputted from seven groups of the soft decision series b . specifically , i 0 =( i 0 , 0 , i 0 , 1 , i 0 , 2 ), i 1 =( i 1 , 0 , i 1 , 1 , i 1 , 2 ), and i 2 =( i 2 , 0 , i 2 , 1 , i 2 , 2 ) are outputted as the decoded bit series i . meanwhile , e 0 =( e 0 , 0 , e 0 , 1 , e 0 , 2 ), e 1 =( e 1 , 0 , e 1 , 1 , e 1 , 2 ), e 2 =( e 2 , 0 , e 2 , 1 , e 2 , 2 ,), e 3 =( e 3 , 0 , e 3 , 1 , e 3 , 2 ), e 4 =( e 4 , 0 , e 4 , 1 , e 4 , 2 ), e 0 =( e 0 , 0 , e 5 , 1 , e 5 , 2 ), and e 6 =( e 6 , 0 , e 6 , 1 , e 6 , 2 ,) are outputted as the correction parity series e . next , the correction parity series e are inputted to the correlators 21 and the decoded beat groups a are outputted therefrom . here , a 0 is outputted for e 0 . similarly , a 1 is outputted for e 1 , a 2 is outputted for e 2 , a 3 is outputted for e 3 , a 4 is outputted for e 4 , a 5 is outputted for e 5 , and a 6 is outputted for e 6 . next , the parallel - serial converter 23 serially outputs the received data d consisting of 16 bits by use of the decoded bit series i and the decoded beat groups a . specifically , the received data d are outputted so as to correspond to d 0 = i 0 , 0 , d 1 = i 0 , 1 , d 2 = i 0 , 2 , d 3 = i 1 , 0 , d 4 = i 1 , 1 , d 5 = i 1 , 2 , d 6 = i 2 , 0 , d 7 = i 2 , 1 , d 8 = i 2 , 2 , d 9 = a 0 , d 10 = a 1 , d 11 = a 2 , d 12 = a 3 , d 13 = a 4 , d 14 = a 5 , and d 15 = a 16 . although this embodiment has been described by use of concrete numbers , other numbers are also applicable thereto . a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig7 . fig7 shows a block diagram showing a configuration of the receiver 6 shown in fig3 with addition of an erasure encoder 40 . other features are similar to those in the first embodiment and duplicate explanation will therefore be omitted . the correlators 21 output correlation coefficients δ ( δ = δ 0 to δ n - 1 ) to the erasure encoder 40 . the correlation coefficients 6 are binary information bit series having the number of bits equal to 2 n . the erasure encoder 40 determines a certain threshold and specifies erased positions according to the correlation coefficients δ , and then outputs erased portions ε ( ε = ε 0 , 0 to ε n - 1 , q - 1 ). here , the erased positions are determined after a continuous process of trial and error . note that a relation ε = r − q is satisfied herein . the decoder 22 specifies positions ; which are to be corrected , according to the erased portions outputted from the erasure encoder 40 and decodes the soft decision series b . in this embodiment , the erasure encoder 40 is added to the configuration of the first embodiment . in rs coding , the correctable number of erased symbols exceeds that of erroneous symbols . consequently , in this embodiment , the correctable number symbols are increased as compared to the first embodiment . accordingly , it is possible to reduce code selection errors more efficiently than the first embodiment even when using the same rs codes as those in the first embodiment . fig8 is a view showing an embodiment which employs ( 7 , 3 ) rs erasure decoding to the embodiment shown in fig7 . this example is similar to the concrete example of the first embodiment except addition of the erasure encoder 40 , and duplicate explanation will therefore be omitted . the correlators 21 output the correlation coefficients δ ( δ = δ 0 to δ 0 to the erasure encoder 40 . the erasure encoder 40 outputs the erased portion ε 0 =( ε 0 , 0 , ε 0 , 1 , ε 0 , 2 ) according to the correlation coefficient ε 0 . similarly , ε 1 =( ε 1 , 0 , ε 1 , 1 , ε 1 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 1 , ε 2 =( ε 2 , 0 , ε 2 , 1 , ε 2 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 2 , ε 3 =( ε 3 , 0 , ε 3 , 1 , ε 3 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 3 , ε 4 =( ε 4 , 0 , ε 4 , 1 , ε 4 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 4 , ε 5 =( ε 5 , 0 , ε 5 , 1 , ε 5 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 5 , and ε 6 =( ε 6 , 0 , ε 6 , 1 , ε 6 , 2 ) is outputted for the correlation coefficient δ 6 . although this embodiment has been described by use of concrete numbers , other numbers are also applicable thereto . although the above - described embodiments apply rs coding to the encoder 11 , it is also possible to employ other error correction coding methods . although the embodiments employ inverse fast fourier transform and fast fourier transform , it is also possible to employ other applications . the present invention has been described with reference to the first and second embodiments . however , the description and the drawings constituting part of this disclosure will not limit the scope of this invention . it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various other embodiments , examples , and technical applications are possible from the teachings of this disclosure . accordingly , it is to be understood that the present invention encompasses various other embodiments which are not expressly stated herein . in this context , the present invention shall be solely determined by the matter to define the invention relevant to the appended claims that deem to be appropriate in conjunction with this disclosure .

7Electricity

as used herein , “ administration ” of a composition includes any route of administration , including oral subcutaneous , intraperitoneal , and intramuscular . as used herein , “ an effective amount ” is an amount sufficient to reduce one or more symptoms associated with a stroke . as used herein , “ protein kinase c activator ” or “ pkc activator ” means a substance that increases the rate of the reaction catalyzed by protein kinase c by binding to the protein kinase c . as used herein , the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable carrier ” means a chemical composition with which the active ingredient may be combined and which , following the combination , can be used to administer the active ingredient to a subject . as used herein , the term “ physiologically acceptable ” ester or salt means an ester or salt form of the active ingredient which is compatible with any other ingredients of the pharmaceutical composition , which is not deleterious to the subject to which the composition is to be administered . as used herein , “ pharmaceutically acceptable carrier ” also includes , but is not limited to , one or more of the following : excipients ; surface active agents ; dispersing agents ; inert diluents ; granulating and disintegrating agents ; binding agents ; lubricating agents ; sweetening agents ; flavoring agents ; coloring agents ; preservatives ; physiologically degradable compositions such as gelatin ; aqueous vehicles and solvents ; oily vehicles and solvents ; suspending agents ; dispersing or wetting agents ; emulsifying agents , demulcents ; buffers ; salts ; thickening agents ; fillers ; emulsifying agents ; antioxidants ; antibiotics ; antifungal agents ; stabilizing agents ; and pharmaceutically acceptable polymeric or hydrophobic materials . other “ additional ingredients ” which may be included in the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention are known in the art and described , for example in genaro , ed ., 1985 , remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , mack publishing co ., easton , pa ., which is incorporated herein by reference . the formulations of the pharmaceutical compositions described herein may be prepared by any method known or hereafter developed in the art of pharmacology . in general , such preparatory methods include the step of bringing the active ingredient into association with a carrier or one or more other accessory ingredients , and then , if necessary or desirable , shaping or packaging the product into a desired single - or multi - dose unit . although the descriptions of pharmaceutical compositions provided herein are principally directed to pharmaceutical compositions which are suitable for ethical administration to humans , it will be understood by the skilled artisan that such compositions are generally suitable for administration to animals of all sorts . modification of pharmaceutical compositions suitable for administration to humans in order to render the compositions suitable for administration to various animals is well understood , and the ordinarily skilled veterinary pharmacologist can design and perform such modification with merely ordinary , if any , experimentation . subjects to which administration of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention is contemplated include , but are not limited to , humans and other primates , and other mammals . despite progress toward the development of new therapeutic agents and availability of several animal models , there is still a pressing need for improved animal models for screening the pkc gene family consists presently of 11 genes which are divided into four subgroups : i ) classical pkcα , β 1 , β 2 ( β 1 and β 2 are alternatively spliced forms of the same gene ) and γ , 2 ) novel pkcδ , ε , η , and θ , 3 ) atypical pkcζ , λ , η and i and 4 ) pkc μ . pkc μ resembles the novel pkc isoforms but differs by having a putative transmembrane domain ( reviewed by blohe et al . ( 1994 ) cancer metast . rev . 13 : 411 ; ilug et al . ( 1993 ) biochem j . 291 : 329 ; kikkawa et al . ( 1989 ) ann . rev . biochem . 58 : 31 ). the α , β 1 , β 2 and γ isoforms are c 2 + , phospholipid and diacylglycerol - dependent and represent the classical isoforms of pkc , whereas the other isoforms are activated by phospholipid and diacylglycerol but are not dependent on ca 2 + . all isoforms encompass 5 variable ( v1 - v5 ) regions , and the α , β and γ isoforms contain four ( c1 - c4 ) structural domains which are highly conserved . all isoforms except pkc α , β and γ lack the c2 domain , the λ η and isoforms also lack nine of two cysteine - rich zinc finger domains in ci to which diacylglycerol binds . the cl domain also contains the pseudosubstrate sequence which is highly conserved among all isoforms , and which serves an autoregulartory function by blocking the substrate - binding site to produce an inactive conformation of the enzyme ( house et al . ( 1987 ) science 238 , 1726 ). 100271 because of these structural features , diverse pkc isoforms are thought to have highly specialized roles in signal transduction in response to physiological stimuli ( nishizuka ( 1989 ) cancer 10 : 1892 ), as well as in neoplastic transformation and differentiation ( glazer ( 1994 ) protein kinase c , j . f . kuo , ed ., oxford u . press at pages 171 - 198 ). for a discussion of known pkc modulators see pct / us97 / 08141 , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 652 , 232 ; 6 , 080 , 784 ; 5 , 891 , 906 ; 5 , 962 , 498 ; 5 , 955 , 501 ; 5 , 891 , 870 and 5 , 962 , 504 ( each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). there is increasing evidence that the individual pkc isozymes play significant roles in biological processes which provide the basis for pharmacological exploitation . one is the design of specific ( preferably , isozyme specific ) activators of pkc . this approach is complicated by the fact that the catalytic domain is not the domain primarily responsible for the isozyme specificity of pkc . these may provide a way to override the effect of other signal transduction pathways with opposite biological effects . alternatively , by inducing down - regulation of pkc after acute activation , pkc activators may cause long term antagonism . bryostatin is currently in clinical trials as an anti - cancer agent . the bryostatins are known to bind to the regulatory domain of pkc and to activate the enzyme . bryostatins are examples of isozyme - selective activators of pkc . ( see for example wo 97 / 43268 ; incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). for a discussion of known pkc modulators see pct / us97 / 08141 , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 652 , 232 ; 6 , 043 , 270 ; 6 , 080 , 784 ; 5 , 891 , 906 ; 5 , 962 , 498 ; 5 , 955 , 501 ; 5 , 891 , 870 and 5 , 962 , 504 ( each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). several classes of pkc activators have been identified . phorbol esters , however , are not suitable compounds for eventual drug development because of their tumor promotion activity , ( ibarreta et al . ( 1999 ) neuro report 10 ( 5 & amp ; 6 ): 1035 - 40 ). of particular interest are macrocyclic lactones ( i . e . bryostatin class and neristatin class ) that act to stimulate pkc . of the bryostatin class compounds ., bryostatin - 1 has been shown to activate pkc and proven to be devoid of tumor promotion activity . bryostatin - 1 , as a pkc activator , is also particularly useful since the dose response curve of bryostatin - 1 is biphasic . additionally , bryostatin - 1 demonstrates differential regulation of pkc isozymes , including pkcα , pkcδ and pkcε . bryostatin - 1 has undergone toxicity and safety studies in animals and humans and is actively investigated as an anti - cancer agent . bryostatin - 1 &# 39 ; s use in the studies has determined that the main adverse reaction in humans is myalgia . one example of an effective dose is 40 μg / m 2 per week by intravenous injection . macrocyclic lactones , and particularly bryostatin - 1 is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 560 , 774 ( incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). macrocyclic lactones and their derivatives are described elsewhere in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 187 , 568 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 043 , 270 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 393 , 897 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 072 , 004 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 196 , 447 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 833 , 257 , and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 611 , 066 ( incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). the above patents describe various compounds and various uses for macrocyclic lactones including their use as an anti - inflammatory or anti - tumor agent . ( szallasi et al . ( 1994 ) journal of biological chemistry 269 ( 3 ): 2118 - 24 ; zhang et al . ( 1996 ) caner research 56 : 802 - 808 ; hennings et al . ( 1987 ) carcinogenesis 8 ( 9 ): 1343 - 1346 ; varterasian et al . ( 2000 ) clinical cancer research 6 : 825 - 828 ; mutter et at ( 2000 ) bioorganic & amp ; medicinal chemistry 8 : 1841 - 1860 )( each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ). as will also be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , macrocyclic lactone compounds and their derivatives , particularly the bryostatin class , are amenable to combinatorial synthetic techniques and thus libraries of the compounds can be generated to optimize pharmacological parameters , including , but not limited to efficacy and safety of the compositions . additionally , these libraries can be assayed to determine those members that preferably modulate α - secretase and / or pkc . combinatorial libraries high throughput screening of natural products and fermentation broths has resulted in the discovery of several new drugs . at present , generation and screening of chemical diversity is being utilized extensively as a major technique for the discovery of lead compounds , and this is certainly a major fundamental advance in the area of drug discovery . additionally , even after a “ lead ” compound has been identified , combinatorial techniques provide for a valuable tool for the optimization of desired biological activity . as will be appreciated , the subject reaction readily lend themselves to the creation of combinatorial libraries of compounds for the screening of pharmaceutical , or other biological or medically - related activity or material - related qualities . a combinatorial library for the purposes of the present invention is a mixture of chemically related compounds , which may be screened together for a desired property ; said libraries may be in solution or covalently linked to a solid support . the preparation of many related compounds in a single reaction greatly reduces and simplifies the number of screening processes that need to be carried out . screening for the appropriate biological property may be done by conventional methods . thus , the present invention also provides methods for determining the ability of one or more inventive compounds to bind to effectively modulate α - secretase and / or pkc . a variety of techniques are available in the art for generating combinatorial libraries described below , but it will be understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited by the foregoing examples and descriptions . ( see , for example , blondelle et al . ( 1995 ) trends anal . chem . 14 : 83 ; u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 359 , 115 ; 5 , 362 , 899 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 288 , 514 : pct publication wo 94 / 08051 ; chen et al . ( 1994 ) jaccs 1 6 : 266 1 : kerr et al . ( 1993 ) jaccs 115 : 252 ; pct publications w092 / 10092 , w093 / 09668 ; w091 / 07087 ; and w093 / 20242 ; each of which is incorporated herein by reference ). accordingly , a variety of libraries on the order of about 16 to 1 , 000 , 000 or more diversomers can be synthesized and screened for a particular activity or property . analogs of bryostatin , commonly referred to as bryologs , are one particular class of pkc activators that are suitable for use in the methods of the present invention . the following table summarizes structural characteristics of several bryologs , demonstrating that bryologs vary greatly in their affinity for pkc ( from 0 . 25 nm to 10 μm ). structurally , they are all similar . while bryostatin - 1 has two pyran rings and one 6 - membered cyclic acetal , in most bryologs one of the pyrans of bryostatin - 1 is replaced with a second 6 - membered acetal ring . this modification reduces the stability of bryologs , relative to bryostatin - 1 , for example , in both strong acid or base , but has little significance at physiological ph . bryologs also have a lower molecular weight ( ranging from about 600 to 755 ), as compared to bryostatin - 1 ( 988 ), a property which facilitates transport across the blood - brain barrier . analog 1 ( wender et al . ( 2004 ) curr drug discov technol . 1 : 1 ; wender et al . ( 1998 ) proc natl acad sci usa 95 : 6624 ; wender et al . ( 2002 ) am chem soc . 124 : 13648 ( each incorporated herein by reference in their entireties )) possesses the highest affinity for pkc . this bryolog is about100 times more potent than bryostatin - 1 . only analog 1 exhibits a higher affinity for pkc than bryostatin . analog 2 , which lacks the a ring of bryostatin - 1 is the simplest analog that maintains high affinity for pkc . in addition to the active bryologs , analog 7d , which is acetylated at position 26 , hasvirtually no affinity for pkc . b - ring bryologs are also suitable for use in the methods of the present invention . these synthetic bryologs have affinities in the low nanomolar range ( wender et al . ( 2006 ) org lett . 8 : 5299 ( incorporated herein by reference in its entirety )). the b - ring bryologs have the advantage of being completely synthetic , and do not require purification from a natural source . a third class of suitable bryostatin analogs is the a - ring bryologs . these bryologs have slightly lower affinity for pkc than bryostatin 1 ( 6 . 5 , 2 . 3 , and 1 . 9 nm for bryologs 3 , 4 , and 5 , respectively ) but have a lower molecular weight . a number of derivatives of diacylglycerol ( dag ) bind to and activate protein kinase c ( niedel et al . ( 1983 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 80 : 36 ; mori et al . ( 1982 ) j . biochem ( tokyo ) 91 : 427 ; kaibuchi et al . ( 1983 ) j . biol . chem . 258 : 6701 ). however , dag and dag derivatives are of limited value as drugs . activation of pkc by diacylglycerols is transient , because they are rapidly metabolized by diacylglycerol kinase and lipase ( bishop et al . ( 1986 ) j . biol . chem . 261 : 6993 ; chung et al . ( 1993 ) am . j . physiol . 265 : c927 ; incorporated herein by reference in their entireties ). the fatty acid substitution determines the strength of activation . diacylglycerols having an unsaturated fatty acid are most active . the stereoisomeric configuration is also critical . fatty acids with a 1 , 2 - sn configuration are active , while 2 , 3 - sn - diacylglycerols and 1 , 3 - diacylglycerols do not bind to pkc . cis - unsaturated fatty acids are synergistic with diacylglycerols . in one embodiment of the present invention , the term “ pkc activator ” expressly excludes dag or dag derivatives , such as phorbol esters . isoprenoids are pkc activators suitable for use in the methods of the present invention . farnesyl thiotriazole , for example , is a synthetic isoprenoid that activates pkc with a kd of 2 . 5 μm . farnesyl thiotriazole , for example , is equipotent with dioleoylglycerol ( gilbert et al . ( 1995 ) biochemistry 34 : 3916 ; incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ), but does not possess hydrolyzable esters of fatty acids . farnesyl thiotriazole and related compounds represent a stable , persistent pkc activator . because of its low mw ( 305 . 5 ) and absence of charged groups , farnesyl thiotriazole would readily cross the blood - brain barrier . octylindolactam v is a non - phorbol protein kinase c activator related to teleocidin . the advantages of octylindolactam v , specifically the (-)- enantiomer , include greater metabolic stability , high potency ( fujiki et al . ( 1987 ) adv . cancer res . 49 : 223 ; collins et al . ( 1982 ) biochem . biophys . res . commun . 104 : 1159 ; each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety )( ec50 = 29 nm ) and low molecular weight that facilitates transport across the blood brain barrier . gnidimacrin is a daphnane - type diterpene that displays potent antitumor activity at concentrations of 0 . 1 - 1 nm against murine leukemias and solid tumors . it acts as a pkc activator at a concentration of ≈ 3 nm in k562 cells , and regulates cell cycle progression at the g1 / s phase through the suppression of cdc25a and subsequent inhibition of cyclin dependent kinase 2 ( cdk2 ) ( 100 % inhibition achieved at 5 ng / ml ). gnidimacrin is a heterocyclic natural product similar to bryostatin , but somewhat smaller ( mw = 774 . 9 ). iripallidal is a bicyclic triterpenoid isolated from iris pallida . iripallidal displays anti - proliferative activity in a nci 60 cell line screen with g150 ( concentration required to inhibit growth by 50 %) values from micromolar to nanomolar range . it binds to pkcα with high affinity ( ki = 75 . 6 nm ). it induces phosphorylation of erk1 / 2 in a rasgrp3 - dependent manner . m . w . 486 . 7 . iripallidal is only about half the size of bryostatin and lacks charged groups . ingenol is a diterpenoid related to phorbol but possesses much less toxicity . it is derived from the milkweed plant euphorbia peplus . ingenol 3 , 20 - dibenzoate , for example , competes with [ 3h ] phorbol dibutyrate for binding to pkc ( ki for binding = 240 nm ) ( winkler et al . ( 1995 ) j . org . chem . 60 : 1381 ; incorporated herein by reference ). ingenol - 3 - angelate possesses antitumor activity against squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma when used topically ( ogbourne et al . ( 2007 ) anticancer drugs . 18 : 357 ; incorporated herein by reference ). napthalenesulfonamides , including n -( n - heptyl )- 5 - chloro - 1 - naphthalenesulfonamide ( sc - 10 ) and n -( 6 - phenylhexyl )- 5 - chloro - 1 - naphthalenesulfonamide , are members of another class of pkc activators . sc - 10 activates pkc in a calcium - dependent manner , using a mechanism similar to that of phosphatidylserine ( ito et al . ( 1986 ) biochemistry 25 : 4179 ; incorporated herein by reference ). naphthalenesulfonamides act by a different mechanism from bryostatin and would be expected to show a synergistic effect with bryostatin or a member of another class of pkc activators . structurally , naphthalenesulfonamides are similar to the calmodulin ( cam ) antagonist w - 7 , but are reported to have no effect on cam kinase . the linoleic acid derivative dcp - la ( 2 -[( 2 - pentylcyclopropyl ) methyl ] cyclopropaneoctanoic acid ) is one of the few known isoform - specific activators of pkc known . dcp - la selectively activates pkcε with a maximal effect at 100 nm . ( kanno el al . ( 2006 ) j . lipid res . 47 : 1146 ). like sc - 10 , dcp - la interacts with the phosphatidylserine binding site of pkc , instead of the diacylglycerol binding site . an alternative approach to activating pkc directly is to increase the levels of the endogenous activator , diacylglycerol . diacylglycerol kinase inhibitors such as 6 -( 2 -( 4 -[( 4 - fluorophenyl ) phenylmethylene ]- 1 - piperidinyl ) ethyl )- 7 - methyl - 5h - thiazolo [ 3 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 - one ( r59022 ) and [ 3 -[ 2 -[ 4 -( bis -( 4 - fluorophenyl ) methylene ] piperidin - 1 - yl ) ethyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 - thioxo - 4 ( 1h )- quinazolinone ( r59949 ) enhance the levels of the endogenous ligand diacylglycerol , thereby producing activation of pkc ( meinhardt et al . ( 2002 ) anti - cancer drugs 13 : 725 ). a variety of growth factors , such as fibroblast growth factor 18 ( fgf - 18 ) and insulin growth factor , function through the pkc pathway . fgf - 18 expression is upregulated in learning and receptors for insulin growth factor have been implicated in learning . activation of the pkc signaling pathway by these or other growth factors offers an additional potential means of activating protein kinase c . growth factor activators , such as the 4 - methyl catechol derivatives , such as 4 - methylcatcchol acetic acid ( mcba ), that stimulate the synthesis and / or activation of growth factors such as ngf and bdnf , also activate pkc as well as convergent pathways responsible for synaptogenesis and / or neuritic branching . the present compounds can be administered by a variety of routes and in a variety of dosage forms including those for oral , rectal , parenteral ( such as subcutaneous , intramuscular and intravenous ), epidural , intrathecal , intra - articular , topical and buccal administration . the dose range for adult human beings will depend on a number of factors including the age , weight and condition of the patient and the administration route . all books , articles , patents or other publications and references are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties . reference to any compound herein includes the racemate as well as the single enantiomers . the following examples serve to further illustrate the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting its scope in any way . rats ( male , wistar , 200 - 225 g ) were randomly divided into 6 groups ( 8 each ) and housed for 1 week before experimentation . transient or permanent restriction of cerebral blood flow and oxygen supply results in ischemic stroke . the global ischemia model used to induce vascular memory impairment was two - vessel occlusion combined with a short term systemic hypoxia . ligation of the bilateral common carotid arteries was performed under anesthesia ( pentobarbital , 60 mg / kg , i . p .). after a one - week recovery from the surgery , rats were exposed to 14 - min hypoxia ( 5 % oxygen in a glass jar ). control rats ( sham operated and vehicle controls ) were subjected to the same incision to isolate both common carotid arteries and to 14 - min air ( in the glass jar ). body temperature was kept at 37 - 37 . 5 ° c . using a heating light source during the surgical procedure and until the animals were fully recovered . bryostatin - 1 was administered at 20 μg / m 2 ( tail i . v ., 2 doses / week , for 10 doses ), starting 24 hours after the end of the hypoxic event . 4 - methylcatechol - diacetic acid ( mcda , a potential ngf and bdnf booster ) was administered at 1 . 0 mg / kg ( i . p ., daily for the same 5 - week period ) in separate groups of rats . one week after the last bryostatin - 1 , mcda , or vehicle administration , rats were trained in the water maze spatial learning task ( 2 training trials per day for 4 days ), followed by a probe test . a visible platform test was given after the probe test . the results are shown in fig1 . overall , there was a significant learning difference between the 6 groups ( fig1 ; f 5 . 383 = 27 . 480 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ; anova ). detailed analysis revealed that the ischemic group did not learn the spatial maze task since there was no significant difference in escape latency over trials ( f 7 , 63 = 0 . 102 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), a significantly impaired learning as compared with the control rats ( group difference : f 1 , 127 = 79 . 751 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), while the rats in the other 5 groups all learned the task ( the ischemic rats with mcda treatment : p & lt ; 0 . 05 and the other 4 groups : p & lt ; 0 . 001 over trials ). bryostatin - 1 therapy greatly improved the performance ( ischemic group with bryostatin - 1 treatment vs . ischemic rats : f 1 , 127 = 72 . 782 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), to the level of performance that did not differ statistically from the control rats ( ischemic group with bryostatin - 1 treatment vs . control rats : f 1 , 127 = 0 . 001 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). mcda treatment also improved the learning of the ischemic rats ( ischemia with ncda treatment vs . ischemic rats : f 1 , 127 = 15 . 584 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) but the difference between the ischemia with mcda treatment and control rats remained significant after the 5 week treatment ( ischemia with ncda treatment vs . control rats : f 1 , 127 = 16 . 618 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). there were no differences between the control and bryostatin - 1 - only groups ( bryostatin - 1 vs . control : f 1 , 127 = 0 . 010 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ) and between the control and mcda - only groups ( mcda vs . control : f 1 , 127 = 0 . 272 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). the rats in the ischemic group did not show a target preference in the probe test ( f3 , 31 = 0 . 096 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), while the rats of the other 5 groups all showed a target quadrant preference in the probe test ( all p & lt ; 0 . 005 ). data were analyzed using target quadrant ratio ( dividing the target quadrant distance by the average of the non - target quadrant values during the probe test ; fig2 ). there was a significant difference in the target quadrant ratios between the groups ( f5 , 47 = 5 . 081 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). detailed analysis revealed group differences between the control and ischemic rats ( f1 , 15 = 9 . 451 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ), between the ischemic and ischemic with bryostatin - 1 treatment ( f1 , 15 = 10 . 328 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ), and between the ischemic with mcda treatment and ischemic rats ( f1 , 15 = 5 . 623 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ), but no differences between the control and ischemic rats with bryostatin - 1 treatment ( f1 , 15 = 0 . 013 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), between the ischemic with mcda treatment and control groups ( f1 , 15 = 2 . 997 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), between the control and bryostatin - l - only rats ( f1 , 15 = 0 . 064 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), and between the control and the mcda - only rats ( f1 , 15 = 0 . 0392 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). a visible platform test , determined after the probe test revealed no significant difference between the groups ( f5 , 47 = 0 . 115 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ), indicating that there were no significant group differences in sensorimotor ability of the rats . global cerebral ischemia / hypoxia was induced in male wistar rats ( 225 - 250 g ) by permanently occluding the bilateral common carotid arteries , combined with about 14 minutes of low oxygen ( about 5 %). bryostatin - 1 was administered at 15 μg / m 2 ( via a tail vein , 2 doses / week , for 10 doses ), starting about 24 hours after the end of the ischemic / hypoxic event . spatial learning ( 2 trials / day for 4 days ) and memory ( a probe test of 1 minute , 24 hours after the last trial ) task was performed 9 days after the last dose . overall , there was a significant difference between the groups ( f3 , 255 = 31 . 856 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) and groups x trials ( f21 , 255 = 1 . 648 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). global cerebral ischemia impaired the spatial learning ( ischemial vs . sham - operated f1 , 127 = 79 . 751 , p & gt ; 0 . 001 ). the learning impairment was restored by bryostatin - 1 treatment ( bryostatin - 1 + ischemia vs . ischemia : f1 , 127 = 50 . 233 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), while bryostatin - 1 alone did not affect the learning ( bryostatin - 1 vs . sham - operated : f1 , 127 = 2 . 258 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ; 9 days after the last dose ). in the memory retention test , sham - operated rats showed a target quadrant preference . such good memory retention was not observed in the ischemic rats , indicating an impaired spatial memory . bryostatin - 1 therapy effectively restored memory retention after ischemia to the level of the sham - operated rats . bryostatin - 1 alone had no significant effects in the target quadrant preference compared with that of the sham - operated control rats . there was a significant difference in the quadrant ratios ( calculated by dividing the target quadrant swim distance by the average swim distance in the non - target quadrants ; f3 , 31 = 6 . 181 , p & lt ; 0 . 005 ) between the groups . detailed analysis revealed significant differences between the ischemic rats and sham - operated control rats ( f1 , 15 = 9 . 451 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ), between the ischemic rats and ischemic rats with bryostatin - 1 treatment ( f1 , 15 = 10 . 328 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ), but no significant differences between the ischemic rats with bryostatin - 1 treatment and sham - operated control ( f1 , 15 = 0 . 0131 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ) and between the sham - operated control rats and bryostatin - 1 alone rats ( f1 , 15 = 0 . 161 , p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). these results demonstrate that the cerebral ischemia / hypoxia produced an impairment of spatial learning and memory , tested about 7 weeks after the ischemic event . the impairment was lasting and not recoverable , during the time frame without appropriate intervention , but restored by chronic bryostatin - 1 treatment , even when the treatment was started 24 hours after the ischemic event , a wide therapeutic time window .

0Human Necessities

in accordance with the figures , the mixing device is comprised of a sheath ( 4 ) which surrounds the injection tube ( 1 ), said sheath being connected to a decompressor ( 2 ) and ending in a helical tube ( 3 ) coupled to the decompressor ( 2 ), said helical tube being the only fluid outlet . attached to the injection tube ( 1 ) is a tube ( 5 ) for entry of one of the fluids , while attached to the sheath ( 4 ) is a tube ( 6 ) for entry of the second fluid . the abovementioned components can be joined to form a single part . the injection tube ( 1 ) is a rectilinear tube , with a smooth inside and the outside formed at least by a complete helical spiral whose pitch is twice the outside diameter of the tube , and its end , which constitutes around 1 / 10 of its total length , is slightly conical and smooth ( no spiral ). its length is equal to the distance between the top end of the sheath and the part of the decompressor ( 2 ) with the largest diameter ( top end of the cone of the decompressor ( 2 )), if the transporting fluid is injected through the inside of the injection tube ( 1 ) through tube ( 5 )— fig2 , or equal to the distance between the top end of the sheath ( 4 ) and the part of the decompressor ( 2 ) with the smallest diameter ( bottom end of the cone of the decompressor ( 2 )), if the transporting fluid is injected via the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ) through tube ( 6 )— fig1 . the cross - section of the inside of the injection tube ( 1 ), because it is smaller than the cross - section of inlet ( 5 ), causes an increase in speed and a consequent depression in the transporting fluid when it is injected through the said inlet ( 5 ), and the area formed by the difference between the cross - section of the decompressor ( 2 ) with the smallest diameter and the cross - section of the outside of the injection tube at its end ( no spiral ), because it is smaller than the cross - section formed by the height of the spiral with its pitch and smaller also than the cross - section of inlet ( 6 ), causes an increase in speed and a consequent depression in the transporting fluid when it is injected through the said inlet ( 6 ). the purpose of the helical spiral is to create helical movement and force against the walls of the decompressor ( 2 ) ( centrifugal force ) in all the fluid that circulates outside the injection tube ( 1 ). the end of the injection tube on the outside is slightly conical and smooth ( no spiral ) and it has the function of stabilising and uniformising the flow of the fluid that exits the said injection tube ( 1 ). the purpose of the outflow of the fluid , with helical movement and centrifugal force , to the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ), by the action of the helical spiral , is to enable the suction fluid to be dragged inside the transporting fluid in the helical tube ( 3 ), if the transporting fluid is injected through inlet ( 6 ), thus allowing the suction fluid to be totally enveloped inside the transporting fluid , or to enable the suction fluid to be dragged outside the transporting fluid in the decompressor ( 2 ), if the transporting fluid is injected through inlet ( 5 ), thereby achieving greater agitation of the two fluids due to the conflict between the movement and rectilinear force of the transporting fluid and the helical movement and centrifugal force of the suction fluid . the decompressor ( 2 ) is a conical tube which constitutes a nozzle with an angle of between 0 ° and 45 °, extending from the end of the sheath ( 4 ) to a rectilinear part of length equal to or greater than the length of the sheath ( 4 ). the length of the conical part is determined by its angle . its cross - section at the top is the same as the cross - section of the sheath ( 4 ) to which it is connected , and its cross - section at the bottom is the same as the cross - section of inlet ( 5 ). the size of the angle is determined by the expansion cone of the transporting fluid , which depends on the injection pressure when it is injected through inlet ( 5 ), so that the intersection between the said cone and the downstream extension of the cone of the decompressor occurs in the rectilinear part of the decompressor ( 2 ). if the transporting fluid is injected through inlet ( 6 ), the size of the angle determines the area of injection pressure and the thickness of the “ sleeve ” of transporting fluid . its function is to decompress the transporting fluid , join the fluids coming from the two inlets ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) and cause the dragging of the fluid that creates suction when the transporting fluid is injected through inlet ( 5 ) with a high suction flow , due to the existence of the angle in the decompressor ( 2 ) and the high agitation that causes the fluids to mix due to the conflict between the force and rectilinear movement of the transporting fluid and the centrifugal force and helical movement of the suction fluid . the helical tube ( 3 ) coupled to the decompressor ( 2 ) constitutes the only outlet and it is connected to the decompressor . its cross - section must be equal to the cross - section of the outlet of the decompressor ( 2 ) and its shape is determined by the injection inlet . if the transporting fluid is injected through the inside of the injection tube ( 1 ), i . e . through tube ( 5 ), the helical tube ( 3 ) can be removed or replaced by a rectilinear tube ; if the transporting fluid is injected via the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ), i . e . through tube ( 6 ), the helical tube ( 3 ) is at least a complete helicoid with the same pitch as that of the spirals around the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ). in this situation , after receiving the injection fluid with helical movement and force against the walls ( centrifugal force ), and inside this “ sleeve ” of transporting fluid the second suction fluid coming from inlet ( 5 ), its function is to mix these two fluids when they circulate through the said helical tube ( 3 ). in fact , when the two fluids ( the transporting fluid which forms a “ sleeve ” against the walls of the tube and the second fluid which is sucked inside the said “ sleeve ” of transporting fluid ) flow through the said helical tube ( 3 ) they meet with resistance along the bends , where they come up against obstacles that cause successive variations in speed and lead to a reduction in the centrifugal force that drove the transporting fluid , i . e . a centripetal component is created . these variations tend to convert the helical movement of the fluid at the inlet into rectilinear movement of the fluid at the outlet , and this conversion of force and movement causes the dragging of the suction fluid , with the total mixing of the two fluids . the sheath ( 4 ) is a rectilinear tube which surrounds the injection tube ( 1 ), it is coupled to an inlet tube ( 6 ) through which the suction fluid or injection fluid enters via the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ) and it constitutes the fundamental component of the device as all the other elements are connected to it . the tube ( 5 ) coupled to the injection tube ( 1 ) constitutes the inlet through the inside of the injection tube and it adjusts the latter tube to the sheath by means of an element which , in the embodiment represented in the figure , has an area where the converging fluid passes . its shape can nevertheless be undifferentiated and its cross - section will have to be larger than the cross - section of the inside of the injection tube ( 1 ). its function is to receive one of the fluids , the transporting fluid or the fluid to be dragged . the tube ( 6 ) connected to the sheath ( 4 ) constitutes the inlet via the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ). its shape is undifferentiated and its cross - section will have to be larger than the differential between the cross - section of the part of the decompressor ( 2 ) with the smallest diameter and the cross - section of the outside of the end of the injection tube ( 1 ) ( no spiral ). its function is to receive the transporting fluid or the fluid to be dragged . the device of this invention has two operating principles , according to the inlet used for the transporting fluid , as follows : a ) injection of the transporting fluid via the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ) through tube ( 6 )— fig1 . the transporting fluid is compressed at the end of the injection tube ( 1 ) against the wall of the decompressor ( 2 ) with the smallest diameter , where the area where the transporting fluid passes is smaller than the area formed by the height of the spiral with its pitch and smaller also than the cross - section of inlet ( 6 ), thereby increasing the injection speed . due to the influence of the spiral around the injection tube ( 1 ), the transporting fluid acquires helical movement with force against the wall of the decompressor ( 2 ) ( centrifugal force ), which is stabilised and uniformised at the end of the injection tube in the part with no spiral . in the decompressor ( 2 ), the second fluid ( suction fluid ) is drawn inside the first fluid or transporting fluid ( injection fluid ), which forms a kind of “ sleeve ”, each fluid maintaining its relative position until reaching the helical tube ( 3 ). in this tube ( 3 ), part of the fluids varies its speed along the bends , slowing down on the longer bends in relation to the other part of the fluids , which travels more quickly and with force towards the centre of tube ( 3 ) ( centripetal force ) on the shorter bends , thereby causing the dragging of the suction fluid , which is compressed by the transporting fluid thus causing the two fluids to totally mix , converting the centrifugal force and helical movement of the fluids at the inlet into force and rectilinear movement at the outlet of the said helical tube ( 3 ). this is the ideal way to carry out extraction with neutralisation of pollutants coming , for example , from chimneys . the most significant example has as a transporting fluid water injected into tube ( 6 ) by means of a pump ( not shown ) and as a fluid to be dragged a gaseous fluid possibly loaded with pollutant elements . b ) injection through the inside of the injection tube ( 1 )— fig2 . the transporting fluid is compressed inside the injection tube and when it expands inside the decompressor ( 2 ) it forms an expansion cone which depends on the injection pressure , intercepting the suction fluid in the rectilinear part of the decompressor ( 2 ). this depends on the angle of the decompressor ( 2 ) and on the injection pressure of the transporting fluid . the force and rectilinear movement of the transporting fluid cause the dragging of the suction fluid which frictionally mixes with the first fluid ( injection fluid ) due to the centrifugal force and helical movement created on the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ) inside this suction fluid . this conflict between the forces and movements of the two fluids facilitates possible chemical reactions between the fluids and / or particles . it is the ideal way to naturally oxygenate water by means of forced aeration inside the apparatus . the most significant example uses water as a transporting fluid injected by means of a pump ( not shown ) into tube ( 5 ) and injection tube ( 1 ), and atmospheric air as a second fluid to be dragged and available through tube ( 6 ) and the outside of the injection tube ( 1 ), these fluids mixing intimately inside the rectilinear part of the decompressor ( 2 ), providing excellent oxygenation of water , for example swimming pool water . the flow of the suction fluid increases with the flow of the injection fluid and the two increase with the increase in injection pressure . the fluid mixing device is a technically simple piece of equipment that effectively resolves environmental problems . the use of the characteristics of extraction with the total mixing of the suction elements by the transporting fluid makes the equipment effective in the chemical neutralization of air , together with the extraction of the pollution of a chimney . the use of the characteristics of suction with the conflict between the force and movement of the two fluids makes the equipment ideal for aerating water and effluents . the method is efficient in the oxidation of nutrients existing in water ( grease , iron , nitrates , etc .) and in the aerobic respiration of bacteria in effluents due to the high klav content . as aeration occurs inside the apparatus , this avoids any environmental impact in the case of the aeration of effluents . the characteristics of high flow rate and suction force make the apparatus an alternative to its use as a vacuum pump . the characteristics of compression and expansion of the transporting fluid with centrifugal force make it possible to directly transfer heat from one fluid to the other .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

silicon - type charge transporting compounds according to our invention have an ionization potential of 4 . 5 - 6 . 2 ev . when the ionization potential is less than 4 . 5 ev , the silicon - type charge transporting material is easily oxidized and deteriorated making it undesirable . when the ionization potential exceeds 6 . 2 ev , injection of charge from the charge generating layer is inhibited , resulting in decreased sensitivity making it undesirable . the ionization potential in our invention was measured by open - air photoelectric spectrometry using surface analyzer ac - 1 manufactured by riken keiki . in the silicon - type charge transporting material provided by our invention , the organic silicon group is bonded to an electron - donor group via a hydrocarbon group . the reason is that if it is bonded directly , the π electron of the aromatic group in the charge transporting material is affected by the π - d interaction effect with the d electron of silicon ; changing the ionization potential from that of the base material . bonding via a hydrocarbon group prevents this phenomenon and facilitates designing of the organic photoconductor . one method of introducing a hydrocarbon group between an aromatic ring and a silicon atom is to bond an unsaturated aliphatic group to at least one of multiple aromatic rings in the charge transporting compound , with an alkoxysilane whose essential substituent for the silicon atom is hydrogen and an alkoxy group , by means of a hydrosilylation reaction . for example , the silicon - type charge transporting material may be manufactured by means of a hydrosilylation reaction between a vinyl group substituted onto an aromatic ring bonded to nitrogen of an aromatic substituted tertiary amine whose ionization potential is 4 . 5 - 6 . 2 ev , and an organic silicon compound with a hydrogen bonded to silicon . one method of introducing the vinyl group to the aromatic group is to first formylate the hydrogen or the methyl group on the aromatic ring , then convert the resulted aldehyde group to the vinyl group by the wittig reaction , thus allowing introduction of the vinyl group . after this process , the hydrosilylation reaction can be employed . another method would be to bromomethylate a saturated hydrocarbon group such as methyl , which has been substituted onto the aromatic group , producing a lithio - complex , and then reacting this with a halogenated alkoxysilane . the aromatic substituted tertiary amine a with an ionization potential of 4 . 5 - 6 . 2 ev used in the method of our invention may constitute any of the compounds shown below , where me is methyl , et is ethyl , ph is phenyl , bu is butyl , and pr is propyl . ## str1 ## following are representative ionization and oxidation potentials for some of the aromatic substituted tertiary amines a shown above . these ionization and oxidation potentials refer to the specific compounds identified above with corresponding reference indicia . there is no limitation as to which position on the aromatic ring of the tertiary amine that the alkoxysilane be introduced . nor is it necessary for alkoxysilane groups to be bonded to all aromatic rings . such determinations are made by considering factors such as solubility in the polysiloxane resin . in this case , the method of introducing a vinyl group to an aromatic ring bonded to nitrogen is to formylate the hydrogen or the methyl group substituted on the aromatic ring , and then to convert the aldehyde group to the vinyl group by the wittig reaction ; thus allowing the introduction of the vinyl group as described above . it can also be produced by means of the dehydrohalogenation between the hydrogen on the secondary amine and the halogenated aromatic group compound which has been substituted by the vinyl group . the hydrogenated organic silicon compound which is able to react with the vinyl group bonded to an aromatic ring of tertiary amine a with ionization potential of 4 . 5 - 6 . 2 ev , is a hydrogenated organic silicon compound whose substituent on the silicon atom in its molecule is hydrogen or an alkoxy group . this compound is added to the vinyl group by a hydrosilylation reaction . hydrogen directly bonded to silicon is an indispensable component of the hydrosilylation reaction to add to the vinyl group . another indispensable component is a hydrolyzable group , such as an alkoxy group -- or 3 . r 3 of the alkoxy group can be a short chain , i . e ., 1 - 6 carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , butyl , amyl , and hexyl ; or r 3 can be a branched alkyl . the selection is made depending on the intended use of the product , stability during hydrosilylation , process and hydrolyzable properties . integer n in the formula denotes the number of alkoxy groups substituted on silicon . when n is higher than 1 , the hydrophilic property of the compound is improved . when there are several groups that are able to be condensed , the compound also acts as a cross - linking agent , so the selection must be made taking into account the hardness of the resin as a result of cross - linking , as well as its hydrophilic property . organic group r 2 other than hydrogen and alkoxy which is directly bonded to the silicon atom , may be selected according to the type of substituent on the silicon atom in the polysiloxane resin , and according to the various purposes such as the solubility in the resin , reactivity for the hydrosilylation reaction , and other property adjustments of the polysiloxane resin . r 2 may be an alkyl group such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , butyl , amyl , and hexyl ; alkenyl such as vinyl and allyl ; halogenated hydrocarbon groups ; aryl such as phenyl ; alkaryl such as tolyl ; and fluorohydrocarbon groups represented by trifluoropropyl , heptafluoropentyl , and nonafluorohexyl . if the substituent on silicon in the polysiloxane resin is methyl , the solubility is better if r 2 is methyl . the polysiloxane resin is a resin soluble in organic solvents , and primarily constituting silicon - type macromolecules known as mt resins , mq resins , t resins , and polysilsesquioxanes . methods of manufacturing such resins are known , such as the method described on page 71 of &# 34 ; silicon - based polymer science &# 34 ;, edited by john m . ziegler and f . w . gordon fearon , acs series 224 , the american chemical society ( 1990 ). the hydrosilylation reaction may be conducted using a platinum catalyst or an organic peroxide catalyst . the platinum catalyst can be a platinum compound used in standard hydrosilylation reactions and addition - type silicone rubber ; platinum chloride ; chloroplatinic acid ; platinum - olefin complexes ; platinum - phosphine complexes ; substances in which platinum is supported by a carrier such as platinum / carbon , platinum / silica gel , and platinum / macromolecules . the quantity of platinum catalyst is that amount used conventionally . in terms of mole ratio , the quantity of platinum metal to alkenyl groups of electron - donor groups should be within the range of 1 / 100 to 1 / 100 , 000 . the hydrosilylation reaction temperature varies depending on the type of platinum catalyst used , its quantity , reaction group materials , and reaction conditions . however , from the standpoint of efficiency , it is desirable that the temperature be below the decomposition temperature of the platinum catalyst , i . e ., below 200 ° c . in the case of an organic peroxide catalyst , the only limitation is that its half - life be above room temperature . organic peroxides which are useful are radical polymerization initiators such as lauryl peroxide , butyl peroxide , and benzoyl peroxide . products of hydrosilylation reactions can be divided into two groups . in one group , the silicon atom is added to the alpha position of the vinyl group . in the other group , the silicon atom is added to the beta position of the vinyl group . the position depends on reaction conditions , such as type of vinyl compound substituent and type of catalyst used . in our invention , there is no adverse effect of a mixture of the alpha - additions and beta - additions in the hydrosilylation process . in fact , having a mixture is preferable since it prevents aggregation of electron hole transferring materials which tend to easily form aggregates . the following examples illustrate our invention in more detail . 101 . 4 g of triphenylamine and 35 . 5 ml of dimethyl formamide ( dmf ) were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring with cooling in ice water , 84 . 4 ml of phosphorus oxychloride was dropped into the flask . the temperature was raised to 95 ° c ., and the mixture was reacted for 5 hours . the reaction solution was poured into 4 l of warm water and stirred for 1 hour . the precipitate was then collected and washed in a 1 : 1 mixture solution of ethanol / water , and 4 -( n , n - diphenylamino ) benzaldehyde was obtained . the yield was 91 . 5 g ( yield rate of 81 . 0 %). 14 . 6 g of sodium hydride and 700 ml of 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring at room temperature , 130 . 8 g of tetramethylphosphonium bromide was added . after adding one drop of anhydrous ethanol , the mixture was reacted for 4 hours at 70 ° c . then 100 g of 4 -( n , n - diphenylamino ) benzaldehyde was added to the mixture . the temperature was raised to 70 ° c ., and the mixture was reacted for 5 hours . the reaction solution was filtered , and an ether extract of the precipitate and the filtrate were washed in water . next , the ether solution was dehydrated with calcium chloride , the ether was removed , and the reaction mixture was obtained . this was recrystallized from ethanol , and a needle - form , lemon - yellow vinyltriphenylamine was obtained . the yield was 83 . 4 g ( yield rate of 84 . 0 %). 40 ml of toluene , 9 . 9 g ( 60 mmol ) of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 018 mmol of a toluene solution of tris -( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring under room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 8 . 2 g of 4 - vinyltriphenylamine was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c , then the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . as a result , a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 - 2 -( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! triphenylamine was obtained . the amount obtained was 12 . 1 g ( yield 91 . 7 %). 40 ml of toluene , 8 . 1 g of methyl diethoxy silane , and 0 . 018 mmol of a toluene solution of tris -( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring under room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 8 . 2 g of 4 - vinyltriphenylamine was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c ., then the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . as a result , a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 - 2 -( methyldiethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! triphenylamine was obtained . the amount obtained was 11 . 2 g ( yield 91 . 4 %). 50 . 7 g of triphenylamine and 53 . 3 ml of dmf were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring while cooling in ice water , 126 . 6 ml of phosphorus oxychloride was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture solution was reacted for 5 hours at 95 ° c ., then poured into 5 l of warm water , and stirred for 1 hour . the precipitate was then collected by filtering and washed in a 1 : 1 mixture solution of ethanol / water . as a result , tris -( 4 - formylphenyl ) amine was obtained in an amount of 65 . 3 g ( yield 95 . 9 %). 14 . 6 g of sodium hydride and 700 ml of 1 , 2 - dimethoxy ethane were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring at room temperature , 130 . 8 g of tetramethyl phosphonium bromide was added . anhydrous ethanol was then added by dripping , and after completion of dripping , a reaction was carried out for 4 hours at 70 ° c . the reaction mixture was then combined with 40 . 2 g of tri -( 4 - formylphenyl ) amine , and the reaction was continued for 5 hours at 70 ° c . the reaction product was filtered . the filtrated cake was extracted with ethanol , and after being combined with the filtrate , was washed with water . after dehydrating the ether solution with calcium chloride , the ether was removed , and a reaction mixture was obtained . this mixture was twice recrystallized with ethanol . as a result , a needle - like lemon - yellow substance of tri -( 4 - vinylphenyl ) amine was obtained . the amount obtained was 38 . 4 g ( yield 97 . 3 %). 40 ml of toluene , 9 . 9 g ( 60 mmol ) of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 018 mmol of a toluene solution of tris -( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring under room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 3 . 3 g ( 13 mmol ) of tri -( 4 - vinylphenyl ) amine was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c ., then the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . as a result , a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 34 ;- 2 -( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! triphenylamine was obtained , and the amount obtained was 7 . 8 g ( yield 80 . 6 %). synthesis of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino !- 2 - ( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! benzene and synthesis of n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) aminobenzene 38 . 5 g ( 166 mmol ) of 4 - iodo - o - xylene , 22 . 9 g ( 166 mmol ) of anhydrous potassium carbonate , and 7 . 0 g of copper powder were added to 20 ml of nitrobenzene , and heat - refluxed for 8 hours while stirring . the mixture was cooled , filtered , and the filtrate was removed . the obtained reaction mixture was passed through a silica gel column , and n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) aminobenzene was obtained . the amount obtained was 15 . 7 g ( yield rate of 69 %). 124 . 6 g of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! benzene and 35 . 5 ml of dmf were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring while cooling in ice water , 84 . 4 ml of phosphorus oxychloride was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture solution was reacted for 5 hours at 95 ° c ., then poured into 4 l of warm water , and stirred for 1 hour . the precipitate was collected and washed in a 1 : 1 mixture solution of ethanol / water , and 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! benzaldehyde was obtained . the amount obtained was 107 . 6 g ( yield rate of 79 . 0 %). 12 . 1 g of sodium hydride and 580 ml of 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring at room temperature , 108 . 5 g of tetramethyl phosphonium bromide was added . after adding one drop of anhydrous ethanol , the mixture was reacted for 4 hours at 70 ° c . 100 g of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! benzaldehyde was added to the reaction mixture , and the mixture was reacted for 5 hours at 70 ° c . the reaction solution was filtered , and an ether extract of the filtered cake and filtrate were washed in water . the ether solution was dehydrated with calcium chloride . the ether was removed and the reaction mixture was obtained . this was recrystallized twice with ethanol , and a needle - form of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! styrene was obtained . the amount obtained was 84 . 5 g ( yield rate of 85 . 0 %). 40 ml of toluene , 6 . 0 g of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 54 mmol of a toluene solution of tris -( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were placed in a three - neck flask , and while stirring under room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 9 . 9 g of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! styrene was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure , and a lemon - yellow oil of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino !- 2 -( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! benzene was obtained . the amount obtained was 13 . 4 g ( yield rate of 90 . 1 %). synthesis of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino !- 2 -( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! benzene and hydrosilylation of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! styrene 40 ml of toluene , 6 . 0 g ( 37 mmol ) of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 34 mmol of dichloro -( n - cycloocta - 1 , 5 - diene ) platinum were loaded into a three - neck flask . while being stirred at room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 9 . 9 g of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino ! styrene was dropped into the flask . upon completion of the addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure , and a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 - n , n - bis -( 3 , 4 - dimethylphenyl ) amino !- 2 -( triethoxysilyl ) ethyl ! benzene was obtained . the amount obtained was 14 . 0 g ( yield was 94 . 2 %). 8 . 0 g ( 45 mmol ) of n - bromosuccinimide ( nbs ) and 10 . 0 g ( 41 mmol ) of triphenylamine were loaded in a 200 ml three - neck flask and then 150 ml of n , n - dimethyl formamide was added . the components were stirred overnight at room temperature . n , n - dimethyl formamide was removed , and the solid substance obtained was extracted with carbon tetrachloride . carbon tetrachloride was removed , and the reaction mixture was twice recrystallized with ethanol . as a result , a solid white substance of 4 - bromotriphenylamine was obtained in an amount of 8 . 2 g ( yield was 61 . 7 %). a 300 ml four - neck flask was filled with 1 . 0 g ( 40 mmol ) of magnesium metal and the flask was filled with nitrogen . diethyl ether was added in an amount of 100 ml , and stirring was initiated . 30 ml of a diethyl ether solution of 8 . 6 g ( 27 mmol ) of 4 - bromotriphenylamine was slowly added by dripping into the stirred mixture . after the dropped amount reached 3 ml , refluxing was slowly started . in the course of refluxing , the addition of diethylether solution by dripping was continued . upon completion of dripping , refluxing was carried out for another hour . a grignard reagent solution obtained in the manner described above was cooled to room temperature , and combined with 40 ml of a diethylether solution of 2 . 1 g ( 27 mmol ) of allyl chloride added slowly by dripping . upon completion of dripping , the reaction mixture was refluxed for 2 hours , and allowed to cool . ice - cold water was added in an amount of 50 ml , and hydrolysis was carried out . the ether layer was extracted , washed once with an aqueous saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , and twice with water . the product was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . after drying , diethylether was removed , and a white solid substance of 4 - n , n - diphenylamino allylbenzene was obtained in an amount of 4 . 9 g ( yield 63 . 2 %). 40 ml of toluene , 6 . 0 g ( 37 mmol ) of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 54 mmol of a toluene solution of tris -( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were loaded into a three - neck flask . while being stirred at room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 9 . 7 g ( 34 mmol ) of 4 - n , n - diphenylamino allylbenzene was dropped into the flask . upon completion of addition of drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure , and a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 - 3 -( triethoxysilyl ) propyl ! triphenylamine was obtained . the amount obtained was 10 . 7 g ( yield was 70 . 1 %). 4 . 5 g ( 27 mmol ) of diphenylamine , 11 . 0 g ( 51 mmol ) of p - iodotoluene , 5 . 5 g ( 40 mmol ) of anhydrous potassium carbonate , and 1 . 1 g of copper chips were added to 30 ml of o - dichlorobenzene . the mixture was subjected to heating and refluxing for 7 hours under stirring conditions . upon completion of the reaction , the reaction solution was filtered , the filtrate was washed with a 3 - 5 % aqueous solution of sodium thiosulfate , and then with saturated brine . after drying the organic layer with anhydrous sodium sulfate , the solvent was removed . the reaction mixture obtained was recrystallized with ethanol , and 4 - methyltriphenylamine was obtained in an amount of 5 . 7 g ( yield 81 . 4 %). 6 . 9 g ( 39 mmol ) of n - bromosuccinimide and 9 . 1 g ( 35 mmol ) of 4 - methyltriphenylamine were loaded in a 300 ml three - neck flask , and 100 ml of carbon tetrachloride was added . the components were stirred overnight . upon completion of the reaction , the reaction solution was cooled and then filtered . the solvent was removed , the reaction mixture obtained was recrystallized with ethanol . as a result , the substance 4 - bromomethyltriphenylamine was obtained in an amount of 10 . 8 g ( yield was 91 . 2 %). a 200 ml four - neck flask was filled with 1 . 0 g ( 40 mmol ) of magnesium metal , and the flask was filled with nitrogen . diethyl ether was added in an amount of 100 ml , and stirring was initiated . 20 ml of diethyl ether solution of 9 . 1 g ( 27 mmol ) of 4 - bromomethyltriphenylamine was slowly added by dripping to the stirred mixture . after the dropped amount reached 5 ml , refluxing was slowly started . in the course of refluxing , addition of diethylether solution by dripping was continued . upon completion of dripping , refluxing was carried out for another hour . a grignard reagent solution obtained in the manner described above was cooled to room temperature , and combined with 20 ml of a diethylether solution of 2 . 1 g ( 27 mmol ) of allyl chloride which was added slowly by dripping . upon completion of dripping , the reaction mixture was refluxed for 2 hours , and the reaction was cooled . ice - cold water was added in an amount of 50 ml , and hydrolysis was carried out . the ether layer was extracted , washed once with an aqueous saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , twice with water . the product was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . after drying , diethylether was removed , and a white solid substance of 4 - n , n - diphenylamino phenyl - 1 - butene obtained in an amount of 5 . 5 g ( yield 66 . 7 %). 40 ml of toluene , 9 . 9 g ( 60 mmol ) of triethoxysilane , and 0 . 018 mmol of a toluene solution of tris - ( tetramethyldivinyldisiloxane ) diplatinum ( 0 ) were placed in a three - neck flask . while stirring under room temperature , 20 ml of a toluene solution of 16 . 7 g ( 54 . 7 mmol ) of 4 - n , n - diphenylamino phenyl - 1 - butene was dropped into the flask . upon completion of addition of the drops , the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 70 ° c . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . as a result , a lemon - yellow oily substance of 4 - 4 -( triethoxysilyl ) butyl ! triphenylamine was obtained . the amount obtained was 13 . 9 g ( yield 83 . 2 %). in view of the above , it can be seen that our invention provides an electron hole transfer material which allows practical application of low surface energy polysiloxane organic photoconductive resins that have excellent hardness and weather resistant properties , unattainable by conventional technique . the silicon - type electron hole transferring material provided by our invention can be used not only in electrophotographic processes , such as photocopiers and laser beam printers , but also as an electric charge transfer layer necessary in construction of organic electroluminescent elements . other variations may be made in the compounds , compositions , and methods described herein without departing from the essential features of our invention . the forms of our invention are exemplary and not intended as limitations on its scope as defined in the appended claims .

2Chemistry; Metallurgy

referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views , there is shown generally in fig1 a diagrammatic view of the optical configuration for a radiation scanning system 10 for scanning and imaging an object field 11 . the scanning system 10 comprises tunable resonant scanners forming a cascaded line scan mirror system coupled through a spherical reflector subsystem . the radiation scanning system 10 uses a spherical reflector 12 to relay the pupils of the scan mirrors without pupil shift . the spherical reflector 12 is designed to have a predetermined center of curvature and a predetermined radius of curvature . the spherical reflector 12 also includes direct and reflected optical axes , the direct optical axis coincident with the line r &# 39 ; s and the reflected ( from one reflecting surface of a slotted folding mirror 20 ) optical axis coincident with line r &# 39 ; s , coincident with the principal axis of the spherical reflector 12 , as illustrated in fig1 . the spherical reflector 12 has a substantially spherical focal surface as represented generally by element 13 , the spherical focal surface 13 including an intermediate focal line 13a of predetermined de minimus width as described hereinbelow in more detail . the scanning system 10 of fig1 employs a pair of line scan mirrors , a first line scan mirror 14 and a second line scan mirror 16 , which are mounted on tunable resonant scanners . positionally , the reflecting surface of the first line scan mirror 14 can be visualized as being located in a plane orthogonal , at the midpoint of the scan angle or field - of - view ( fov ) of the mirror , to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s . the reflecting surface of the second line scan mirror 16 , however , is not orthogonal to the reflected optical axis r &# 39 ; s . the reflecting surface is perpendicular to the reflected optical axis r &# 39 ; s in the direction of rotation at the midpoint scan position , but the axis of rotation sm of the second line scan mirror 16 is canted from perpendicularity to the reflected optical axis r &# 39 ; s by several degrees so that incident radiation from a field scanning element 26 is reflected so as to intercept the surface of the spherical reflector 12 . the reflecting surfaces of the first and second line scan mirrors 14 , 16 , respectively , are positioned a predetermined distance from the spherical reflector 12 equal to the radius of curvature thereof . as shown in fig1 the first line scan mirror 14 has a rotational axis fm about which the mirror 14 oscillates . the scan angle oscillation of the first line scan mirror 14 at a predetermined fundamental frequency f f and scan amplitude a f is exemplarily illustrated by arrow 18 . the rotational axis fm of the first line scan mirror 14 is disposed orthogonally to the optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 to achieve near distortion free scanning . a slotted folding mirror 20 has opposed , planar reflecting surfaces 21a , 21b and a narrow slot 22 extending therethrough between the reflecting surfaces . the slotted folding mirror 20 is positioned on the optical axis r &# 39 ; s between the first line scan mirror 14 and the spherical reflector 12 . the slotted folding mirror 20 is disposed so that the intermediate focal line 13a of the spherical reflector 12 is coincident with or closely adjacent to the narrow slot 22 of the slotted folding mirror 20 . the first line scan mirror 14 is centered on the optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 at a distance equal to the radius of curvature of the spherical reflector 12 . the first line scan mirror 14 is disposed so that the narrow slot 22 of the slotted folding mirror 20 is scanned during oscillation about the rotational axis fm . in radiometric applications a radiance reference source ( not shown ) can be disposed at both ends of the narrow slot 22 . the second line scan mirror 16 has a rotational axis sm and oscillates thereabout at a selected frequency f s as exemplarily illustrated by arrow 24 . the selected frequency f s may be a harmonic of the predetermined fundamental frequency f f to achieve near linear line scans . the amplitude a s of the secondary oscillation is significantly less than the amplitude a f of the fundamental oscillation . because of the smaller amplitude a s of the secondary oscillation , the rotational axis sm of the second line scan mirror 16 can readily be canted some 30 degrees off orthogonality from the reflected optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 with insignificant distortion of the object field 11 . the second line scan mirror 16 is centered on the reflected optical axis r &# 39 ; s at a distance equal to the radius of curvature from the spherical reflector 12 . the first line scan mirror 14 and the second line scan mirror 16 are phase locked wherein the predetermined amplitude a f of the predetermined fundamental frequency f f is combined with the predetermined amplitude a s of the selected frequency f s . the net effect is that the radiation scanning system 10 produces line scans of the object field 11 at a near constant line scan rate , i . e ., as if the object field 11 were scanned by a single scanner driven to provide a substantially triangular waveform , when the second line scan mirror 16 is oscillated at a selected frequency f s which is a harmonic of the predetermined fundamental frequency f f . by way of example only , if the first line scan mirror is scanned at a frequency of 4 mhz , the second line scan mirror would optimally be driven at the 12 mhz harmonic . further , the amplitude of the harmonic frequency would be approximately one tenth of the predetermined amplitude of the fundamental frequency . alternatively , when the second line scan mirror 16 is oscillated at a selected frequency f s which is equal to the fundamental frequency f f , the radiation scanning system 10 is able to generate wider scan angles with respect to the object field 11 . other elements of the radiation scanning system 10 include the field scan mirror 26 , a detector lens 28 , and a detector 30 . the field scan mirror 26 has a rotational axis fs . the field scan mirror 26 , which is oversized in the direction of the rotational axis fs , is driven by a sawtooth waveform . within the physical and functional constraints of the scanning system 10 , the field scan mirror 26 is disposed as close as possible to the second line scan mirror 16 to minimize the amount of pupil shift . for applications which use only a single line scan mirror the field scan mirror 26 is substituted for the second line scan mirror 16 in the optical configuration . the geometric orientation of the axis of rotation fs of the field scan mirror 26 does not change , but the reflective surface is reorientated by rotation about the rotational axis fs so that the incident radiation from the object field 11 is reflected to intercept the surface of the spherical reflector 12 . for systems applications requiring only line scans , e . g ., where there is relative movement between the radiation scanning system 10 and the object field 11 or where a single line is to be continuously scanned , the field scan mirror 26 is eliminated from the optical configuration . the detector 30 is disposed at an object point of the detector lens 28 . the disposition of the detector lens 28 with respect to the first line scan mirror 14 and the slotted folding mirror 20 is best explained in terms of an image point of the detector lens 28 by considering the detector 30 as a point object on the optical axis of the radiation scanning system 10 to be imaged by means of the detector lens 28 . the converging radiation exiting the detector lens 28 is reflected by the slotted folding mirror 20 and the first line scan mirror 14 . the radiation reflected by first line scan mirror 14 converges to form the point image of the detector 30 on the intermediate focal line 13a . as the first line scan mirror 14 oscillates about the rotational axis fm , the point image of the detector 30 translates back and forth along the intermediate focal line 13a of the spherical reflector 12 . thus , the image point of the detector lens 28 coincides with the intermediate focal line 13a defined by the spherical reflector 12 . the optical speed ( f - number ) of the converging radiation from the detector lens 28 should match the optical speed ( f - number ) of the spherical reflector 12 . in operation , with the object field 11 sufficiently distant such that radiation therefrom appears essentially as collimated radiation at the radiation scanning system 10 , the object field 11 is scanned a field at a time by means of the field scan mirror 26 . the sawtooth driven field scan mirror 26 exhibits a scan rate such that the first line scan mirror 14 provides an output of contiguous or near contiguous line scans . typically , two field patterns are interlaced to provide a complete frame . the radiation emanating from the object field 11 is reflected from the field scan mirror 26 to the second line scan mirror 16 and reflected therefrom . the collimated radiation reflected from the second line scan mirror 16 is reflected from the first reflecting surface 21a of the slotted folding mirror 20 to the spherical reflector 12 . the radiation reflected from the spherical reflector 12 focuses at the intermediate focal line 13a and passes through the narrow slot 22 of the slotted folded mirror 20 . the radiation diverges from the intermediate focal line 13a and is reflected from the first line scan mirror 14 and from the second reflecting surface 21b of the slotted folding mirror 20 . the diverging radiation reflected from the slotted folding mirror 20 is refracted by the detector lens 28 and converges to a focus at the detector 30 . the width of the narrow slot 22 is minimally sized , but sufficient to allow the reflected radiation to pass through the slotted folding mirror 20 . the narrow slot 22 will produce some minor obscuration in the system pupil . the optical configuration of another embodiment of a radiation scanning system 40 according to the present invention is diagrammatically depicted in fig2 . this scanning system 40 eliminates the slotted folding mirror 20 from the optical configuration of fig1 . eliminating the slotted folding mirror 20 in this embodiment removes two reflective surfaces from the optical configuration as well as eliminating the minor obscuration in the system pupil caused by the narrow slot 22 in the slotted folding mirror 20 . but , while there is no central obscuration in this embodiment , there may be some image distortion for larger line scan angles . the radiation scanning system 40 uses the spherical reflector 12 to relay the pupils of the scan mirrors without pupil shift . the spherical reflector 12 of the radiation scanning system 40 is generally as described hereinabove for the radiation scanning system 10 . the relative disposition of the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 with respect to the other elements of the system 40 is shown in fig2 as is the relative spatial orientation of the intermediate focal line 13b . the scanning system 40 of fig2 utilizes the first line scan mirror 14 and the second line scan mirror 16 , mounted on tunable resonant scanners , as described hereinabove . in this embodiment , however , the first and second line scan mirrors 14 , 16 are offset from , but adjacent to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 . the reflecting surfaces of the two line scan mirrors 14 , 16 are not orthogonal to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s . the reflecting surfaces are perpendicular to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s in the direction of rotation at the midpoint scan position , but the axes of rotation fm , hm of the first and second line scan mirrors 14 , 16 , respectively , must be canted from perpendicularity to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s by several degrees so that incident radiation from the field scan mirror 26 is reflected by the second line scan mirror 16 in a direction to intercept the surface of the spherical reflector 12 . in turn , the reflected radiation from the spherical reflector 12 incident upon the first line scan mirror 14 is reflected therefrom to intercept the pupil of the detector lens 28 . the orientation of the second line scan mirror 16 with respect to the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s causes the intermediate focal line 13b to intersect the direct optical axis r &# 39 ; s , as illustrated . the canted orientation of the first line scan mirror 14 with respect to the axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 may create some minor distortion in the scanned image of the object field 11 in the field scan direction . this type of distortion is sometimes referred to as line scan bow . the amount of distortion for a given scan angle can be lessened , if necessary , by reducing the optical speed ( f - number ) of the spherical reflector 12 . this allows the axis of rotation for the first line scan mirror 14 to be more orthogonal to the optical axis r &# 39 ; s of the spherical reflector 12 . other elements of the radiation scanning system 40 include the field scan mirror 26 , the detector lens 28 , and the detector 30 as previously described for the embodiment of fig1 . the disposition of the detector lens 28 with respect to the first line scan mirror 14 is again best explained in terms of the object and image points of the detector lens 28 by considering the detector 30 disposed at the object point of the detector lens 28 . the detector lens 28 images the detector 30 on the intermediate focal line 13b of the radiation scanning system 40 . refracted radiation exiting the detector lens 28 is reflected by the first line scan mirror 14 to form the image of the detector 30 at a point on the intermediate focal line 13b . as the first line scan mirror 14 oscillates about the rotational axis fm , the focal point of the detector 30 translates back and forth along the intermediate focal line 13b of the spherical reflector 12 . thus , the image point of the detector lens 28 coincides with the intermediate focal line 13b of the spherical reflector 12 . in operation , with the object field 11 sufficiently distant such that radiation therefrom appears essentially as collimated radiation at the radiation scanning system 40 , the object field 11 is scanned a field at a time by means of the field scan mirror 26 . the radiation emanating from the object field 11 is reflected from the field scan mirror 26 to the second line scan mirror 16 and reflected therefrom . the collimated radiation reflected from the second line scan mirror 16 is reflected by the spherical reflector 12 . the collimated radiation reflected from the spherical reflector 12 converges to a focus at the intermediate focal line 13b and diverges therefrom to be reflected from the first line scan mirror 14 . the diverging radiation reflected from the first line scan mirror 14 is refracted by the detector lens 28 and converges to a focus at the detector 30 . the optical configurations disclosed in the embodiments of fig1 and 2 , respectively , may be utilized , in modified form , to optically couple a single line scan mirror supported on a multi - mode resonant torsional element through the spherical reflector 12 . the single multi - mode resonant line scan mirror replaces the first line scan mirror 14 in the optical configurations of fig1 and 2 . the torsional element is oscillated at the predetermined fundamental frequency f f as well as one or more phase locked harmonics of the fundamental frequency f f to produce a near linear driving waveform for the single multi - mode resonant line scan mirror . the frequencies of the multi - mode resonant torsional element may be optionally tunable . the field scan mirror 26 is substituted for the second line scan mirror 16 which is eliminated . the geometric orientation of the axis of rotation fs of the field scan mirror 26 is as described hereinabove . the reflective surface of the field scan mirror 26 is rotated about the rotational axis fs so that incident radiation from the object field 11 is reflected in a direction to intercept the surface of the spherical reflector 12 . alternatively , in yet further embodiments of the present invention , the optical configurations of fig1 and 2 , respectively , may be used , in modified form , to optically couple a line scan mirror mounted on an non - tunable resonant galvanometer through the spherical reflector 12 . the single mode line scan mirror replaces the first line scan mirror 14 in fig1 and 2 . the field scan mirror 26 is substituted for the second line scan mirror 16 which is eliminated . the geometric orientation of the axis of rotation fs of the field scan mirror 26 is as described hereinabove . the reflective surface of the field scan mirror 26 is rotated about rotational axis fs so that incident radiation from the object field 11 is reflected by the repositioned field scan mirror 26 to intercept the surface of the spherical reflector 12 . fig3 is a cross sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a radiation scanning system 50 according to the present invention , this scanning system 50 utilizing a set of four cascaded line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 ( two supplementary line scan mirrors , a first line scan mirror and a second line scan mirror , respectively ) mounted on tunable resonant scanners and three spherical reflectors 60 , 62 , 64 ( two supplementary spherical reflectors and a spherical reflector , respectively ). one specific spherical reflector 60 , 62 , 64 is interposed between each pair of optically adjacent line scan mirrors 52 - 54 , 54 - 56 , 56 - 58 , respectively , as depicted in fig3 . each of the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 is in a respective plane which , at a mid - scan position , is perpendicular to the plane of the paper . the axis of rotation of line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 are canted from perpendicularity to the optical axes of the spherical reflectors 60 , 62 , 64 by several degrees so that the incident radiation from the preceding optical element is reflected in a direction to intercept the surface of the following optical element . the axis of rotation of line scan mirror 58 is canted to reflect the incident radiation from the field scan mirror 26 to the surface of the spherical reflector 64 . the axis of rotation of line scan mirror 56 is canted to reflect incident radiation from spherical reflector 64 to the surface of spherical reflector 62 . the axis of rotation of scan mirror 54 is canted to reflect the incident radiation from spherical reflector 62 to the surface of the spherical reflector 60 . finally , the axis of rotation of line scan mirror 52 is canted to reflect the incident radiation from spherical reflector 60 to the pupil of the detector lens 28 . in addition , the axis of rotation of each of the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 is disposed as close as possible to the center of curvature of the corresponding spherical reflector 60 , 62 , 64 . the axes of rotation for the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 in the embodiment depicted in fig3 lie in the plane of the paper . the field - of - view of this embodiment , in contrast to the fields - of - view of the embodiments previously disclosed hereinabove and as exemplarily illustrated by fig1 and 2 , is increased by a factor of two in both the line scan and field scan directions . this increase in the field - of - view is accomplished without changing the oscillatory amplitude of the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 . alternatively , in lieu of increasing the field - of - view of the radiation scanning system 50 , the cascade configuration of the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 can be utilized to further improve the scan linearity of the system 50 by locking the line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 to the fundamental frequency and the first , second and third harmonics thereof , respectively . alternatively , the harmonics may be locked to create a near sawtooth scan as opposed to the near triangular scan . the embodiment of fig3 exemparily illustrates a 2 : 1 object / image ratio for the spherical reflectors 60 , 62 . using the basic thin lens optical relationship an object distance of 1 . 5 times the focal length produces an image distance of 3 times the focal length . for spherical reflector 64 the object distance coincides with the focal length thereof . it is to be understood that other applications may require a different object / image ratio . the disposition of the elements forming the optical configuration of the radiation scanning system 50 of fig3 is best explained by considering the detector 30 as a point object on the optical axis of the scanning system 50 to be imaged by means of the detector lens 28 . the detector lens 28 images the detector 30 at a point on an image focal line 13c after reflection by the second supplementary line scan mirror 52 . the image focal line 13c coincides with the object focal line 13c 60 of the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 . the object focal line 13c 60 is a substantially spherical focal surface at a location which in this exemplary embodiment is 1 . 5 times the focal length of the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 . as the second supplementary line scan mirror 52 oscillates , the point image of the detector 30 translates back and forth along the object focal line 13c 60 . the converging radiation reflecting from the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 remains directed at the first supplementary line scan mirror 54 , disposed at the center of curvature of the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 , as the second supplementary line scan mirror 52 oscillates through its full scan angle . the converging radiation from the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 is directed to focus at the image focal line 13d after reflection from the first supplementary line scan mirror 54 . the image focal line 13d coincides with the object focal line 13d 62 of the first supplementary spherical reflector 62 . the object focal line 13d 62 is 3 times the focal length of second supplementary spherical reflector 60 and 1 . 5 times the focal length of the first supplementary spherical reflector 62 . it is a substantially spherical focal surface . by way of illustration only , the focal length of the first supplementary spherical reflector 62 of this exemplary embodiment is twice as long as the focal length of the second supplementary spherical reflector 60 . the focal length of the spherical reflector 64 defines an intermediate object focal line 13e 64 which is coincident with the substantially spherical focal surface of the image focal line 13e of the first supplementary spherical reflector 62 . the converging radiation reflecting from the first supplementary spherical reflector 62 remains directed at the first line scan mirror 56 as the first and second supplementary line scan mirrors 54 , 52 , respectively , oscillate through full scan angles . the converging radiation reflected from the first line scan mirror 56 is directed to focus at the intermediate focal line 13e . the collimated radiation reflected from the spherical reflector 64 remains directed at the second line scan mirror 58 as the preceding line scan mirrors 52 , 54 , 56 oscillate through their respective fields - of - view . the collimated radiation reflected from the second line scan mirror 58 is directed at the field scan mirror 26 , which , like previous embodiments , is oversized in the direction of its axis of rotation . similarly , the field scan mirror 26 is placed as close as possible to the second line scan mirror 58 to minimize pupil shift . while the foregoing embodiments have been described in terms of an optical configuration for a passive radiation scanning system , that is one utilizing radiation emitted by the object field 11 , it is to be understood that the foregoing optical configurations also have utility in both active and hybrid radiation scanning systems . in an active system , a source of radiation , for example a lasing apparatus , is substituted for the detector 30 depicted in fig1 and 3 and the optical radiation is transmitted through the optical configuration to be outputted as a collimated beam of radiation , typically rastered , which coacts with a display means , as for example a tv screen . one means for controlling a scanning mirror system of the type using two cascaded resonant line scan mirrors 14 , 16 oscillating at the predetermined fundamental frequency f f and the selected frequency f s which is a harmonic of the predetermined fundamental frequency f f is illustrated by the block diagram of fig4 . the control means illustrated is for a passive system , but the control approach is conceptually the same when applied to an active system . an active system can replace the detector 30 and its associated circuitry with a radiation source having appropriate drive circuitry . similarly a combined active / passive system can use a single optical scanning system with one set of mirror controls , but with separate controls for the detector and the radiation source . the detector 30 receives radiation serially from the object field 11 of interest through an optical configuration as depicted by radiation scanning system 10 or 40 . a circuit 72 provides appropriate bias and preamplification for the signal generated by the detector 30 . a circuit 74 provides a means for level and gain control of the video . the input to the detector 30 is repetitive in the form of left - to - right and right - to - left scan lines , as generated by the approximately linear scan pattern of the line scan mirrors 14 , 16 . a circuit 76 stores the line scans as inputted . however , during output the circuit 76 reverses the right - to - left scans so that the output is a series of consecutive left - to - right scan lines . an embodiment of elements comprising the circuit 76 is illustrated in fig5 and will be described in greater detail hereinbelow . the signal input from the circuit 76 is modified for tv formats with the left - to - right linear scan lines sequentially progressing via the field scan mirror 26 from the top to the bottom of the object field 11 . a circuit 78 adds appropriate timing and level information to the signal to formulate a standard composite tv format , which is slaved to the master clock input to the tv sync generator 80 . the output of the circuit 78 is then suitable to drive a standard tv display 82 . the tv sync generator 80 provides the timing for synchronizing the two line scan mirrors 14 , 16 and the field scan mirror 26 . the tunable resonant scanner 84 for the first line scan mirror 14 is frequency controlled and phase locked by the circuit networks 86 and 88 , respectively . for the embodiment herein described , the line scan rate of the resonant scanner 84 is one half of the normal tv line rate , i . e ., circuit 86 halves the frequency outputted by the tv sync generator 80 . the third harmonic in a fourier series for a triangular waveform is three times the frequency of the fundamental . therefore , a circuit 90 multiplies the output of the tv sync generator 80 by a factor of three . in a manner similar to the control used for the first line scan mirror 14 , the tunable resonant scanner 92 of the second line scan mirror 16 is frequency controlled and phase locked by the circuit networks 94 and 96 , respectively . the field scanner 98 for the field scan mirror 26 is controlled by the output from the tv sync generator 80 . the field scanner 98 is driven in an interlaced sawtooth pattern via a ramp generator 100 and a driver circuit 102 . for very high resolution applications it may be desirable to superimpose a high frequency oscillation or dither on the field scanner 98 via the field driver 102 to eliminate spurious information received from the edges of the object field 11 . it is a correction for the vertical displacement at the edges of the object field which result from the triangular left - to - right , right - to - left line scans as opposed to the true sawtooth left - to - right tv scan format . this small amplitude dither would be at twice the predetermined fundamental line scan frequency f f . the line storage and reversal circuit 76 performs two functions . it stores each pixel in each line so that each scan line can be read twice , and it reverses each right - to - left scan line . for the embodiment discussed hereinabove , each scan line must be read twice to compensate for a predetermined fundamental line scan frequency f f which is half of the standard tv line frequency . right - to - left line reversal is accomplished simply by reading the r / l ram 112 on a first - in , last - out basis . with reference to fig5 each pixel entering the line storage and reversal circuit 76 is digitized by an a / d converter 104 . the digitizing rate is set by a write counter 108 which is slaved to the fundamental line drive , that is at one half of the rate outputted from the tv sync generator 80 . the digitized output from the a / d converter 104 is directed to a l / r ram 114 by a switch 106 while the first line scan mirror 14 is scanning left - to - right and to the r / l ram 112 while the scanner is scanning right - to - left . the ram address for both rams is stepped by the write counter 108 through a switch 110 . the write counter 108 resets and the write counter switch 110 cycles at the scan line rate which is one half of the standard tv line rate . the read counter 118 steps both rams through a switch 116 for readout . the read counter 118 resets and the read counter switch 116 cycles at the standard tv line rate . the read output from the rams is directed to a d / a converter 122 by a switch 120 . while the fundamental line scan mirror 14 is scanning left - to - right the switch 120 is set to read the r / l ram 112 on a first - in , last - out basis . and conversely , while the first line scan mirror 14 is scanning right - to - left the switch 120 is set to read the l / r ram 114 on a first - in , first - out basis . the output from the d / a converter 122 is the input to the gate and summing circuit 78 . in the foregoing discussion the first line scan mirror 14 was frequency controlled by an external master clock . alternatively , radiation scanning systems according to the present invention can be operated at the inherent resonant frequency of the tunable resonant scanner . foreoptics can be used for applications requiring telescopic or microscopic magnifications . internal radiance references can be located at an intermediate focal plane when the system is used in applications requiring accurate measurements . a variety of modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described hereinabove .

7Electricity

with reference to fig1 , a height adjustable work seat 100 suitable for use by an automotive mechanic or other professional is shown . the height adjustable work seat has two major positions of operation , namely a full or maximum height and a very low or minimum height . at intermediate positions of operation , the height adjustable work seat is partially collapsed or partially extended . when working on an automobile , a mechanic may be standing , seated at a nominally conventional seating height , kneeling or sitting upon a floor , sitting or lying upon an automotive creeper or otherwise positioned so as to use tools and to access various regions at various heights of the automobile . traditionally , the mechanic uses the creeper only for accessing very low points of the automobile , and the creeper is either in the way or is moved out of the way while the mechanic works on intermediate or higher points of the automobile , bending or kneeling accordingly . the height adjustable work seat 100 allows the mechanic to select a very low or full height position of the seat , as needed for working on various regions of the automobile . as shown in fig1 , the base 102 of the height adjustable work seat 100 has four wheels 104 , which may have casters 106 , mounted at or near corners of the base 102 . in one example , the wheels 104 swivel with respect to the base 102 . various sizes of bases can , be devised . in the example shown in fig1 , the base 102 has first and second side sections 120 , 122 that extend past respective sides of the seat pan . the first and second side sections 120 , 122 extend further forward than the front edge 124 of the seat pan 112 , and extend further backward than the rear edge 126 of the seat pan 112 . the four wheels 104 are mounted accordingly , with the wheels being positioned outboard of the seat pan 112 for stability . in other words , the wheels 104 are positioned further fore and aft than the front to back extent of the seat pan 112 , and the wheels 104 are positioned further to the sides than the lateral extent of the seat pan 112 . with the wheels mounted further apart than the dimensions of the seat pan 112 , as when the base 102 including the side sections 120 , 122 is wider and deeper than the seat pan 112 and the wheels 104 are mounted near the outermost corners of the base 102 , the height adjustable work seat 100 exhibits stability both laterally and fore and aft . in one example , an upper surface 108 of the base may fit underneath the frame of the automobile , as when low - profile wheels such as found on a creeper are fitted to the frame . at the fully extended or maximum height position of the height adjustable work seat , the mechanic is comfortably seated at a nominal seating height and may roll the seat about the workspace until a very low height of the work seat is desired . in one embodiment , the upper surface 110 of the seat pan 112 , not including the seatback 114 , is approximately seventeen inches above a floor or other surface upon which the wheels 104 roll , when the height adjustable work seat 100 is at the maximum height position . further embodiments may have a seat pan 112 height of fourteen inches or other selected dimension above the floor . a mechanic , seated upon the height adjustable work seat in the maximum height position , can work upon the middle and upper regions of the front , sides and back of an automobile . at such time as a very low height of the work seat is desired , the mechanic collapses the work seat to the minimum height . with reference to fig2 , when the legs of the height adjustable work seat are folded and the work seat is collapsed to the minimum height , the seat pan is very low to the ground . in one example , the seat pan is approximately as low to the ground in the minimum height position as a bottom portion of a seat of the mechanics chair with side tray disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 237 , 781 . at the fully collapsed or minimum height position , the work seat is approximately as low to the ground as if a seat pan and seatback had been mounted to a mechanics creeper . the mechanic maneuvers the work seat in the minimum height position about the workspace to access lower regions of the automobile . in one embodiment , the upper surface of the seat pan , not including the seatback , is no more than twelve inches above a floor or other surface upon which the wheels roll , when the height adjustable work seat is at the minimum height position . in a further embodiment , a lowermost portion 202 of the top surface 110 of the seat pan 112 , not including the seat back 114 , is 6 inches above the floor when the height adjustable work seat is at the minimum height position . a mechanic , seated upon the height adjustable work seat in the minimum height position , can work upon the lowermost regions of the front , sides and back of an automobile . with reference to fig3 , the height adjustable work seat is shown with all four legs 302 , 304 , 306 and 308 partially collapsed or partially extended . seen from the front of the seat , the two front legs 302 and 304 collapse or fold towards each other , as do the two back legs 306 and 308 . the two front legs 302 and 304 fold along a front folding plane perpendicular to the floor , and the two back legs fold along a back folding plane perpendicular to the floor . seen from either side of the seat the legs of that side collapse or fold away from the viewer , towards the opposed side legs . in a variation , the legs of one side collapse or fold towards each other in a side folding plane , the legs of the opposing side likewise collapsing or folding towards each other in a further side folding plane . other leg - folding configurations may be devised by a person skilled in the art . further variations of the height adjustable work seat include various mechanisms for raising and lowering the seat . a scissors lift may be manually operated and have stops or ratchets at multiple positions . further , a scissors lift may be operated by a screw , using a handle or a motor drive . removable legs may be inserted into sockets in the base and the seat pan assembled onto the removable legs to raise the seat , with the legs removed for the lowered seat position . a seat may hang on upright rods or columns extending upward from a base , the seat being secured to the rods or columns at a variable height . a seat may spin on a large diameter screw that is threaded into the base , for height adjustment . sliding ramps may move inward or outward to adjust a height of the seat relative to the base . one , too , three or four legs may be included . with reference to fig4 , a placement of pivoting wheels 104 near the four outboard corners of the base 102 of the height adjustable work seat 100 is shown . each wheel rolls about a horizontal axis and each wheel assembly pivots about a vertical axis , in a manner known in the art . other arrangements of wheels , wheel types and mountings or placements of mountings may be devised . placing the wheels farther away from a vertical centerline or a center of gravity of the height adjustable work seat provides additional stability . with reference to fig5 , each leg 302 , 304 has a center pivot 316 or knee joint allowing the leg 302 to fold or pivot . each leg has a further pivot 318 at the top of the leg where the leg is pivotably connected to the seat pan or to a frame supporting the seat pan . each leg has a still further pivot 310 at the bottom of the leg where the leg is pivotably connected to the base . thus , each leg has three pivots , one each at top , center and bottom of the leg . equivalently , for each leg , the leg 302 has a lower leg 312 and an upper leg 314 . the bottom pivot 310 foldably connects the lower leg 312 to the base 102 . the center pivot 316 foldably connects the lower leg 312 to the upper leg 314 such that the lower leg 312 and the upper leg 314 can meet when folded together . the top pivot 318 foldably connects the upper leg 314 to the seat pan 112 or seat pan frame . in fig5 , the height adjustable work seat is shown with the two legs of one side partially collapsed or partially extended , and the two legs of the opposed side fully extended , although a view of the rear legs is obscured by the front legs in the elevated front view . in the example shown , the respective center pivots 316 of the front legs 302 , 304 fold towards each other , and the respective center pivots of the rear legs fold towards each other . with reference to fig5 , 6 and 8 , a sleeve lock 502 , 504 telescopically slides up or down an upper portion of each leg 302 , 304 , and locks the leg in a fully extended position or unlocks the leg . the sleeve lock may be a section of tubing of slightly larger inside dimensions than the outside dimensions of the upper leg section or the center pivot section , allowing for a sliding fit . the sleeve lock 502 , 504 slides over the center pivot 316 of the leg to lock the leg 302 , 304 , and slides off of the center pivot 316 of the leg to unlock the leg 302 , 304 . each sleeve lock 502 , 504 is a slidable locking sleeve on a respective leg , engaging and preventing the respective knee joint or other center pivot 316 from folding . each sleeve lock 502 , 504 is disengageable to enable folding the respective center pivot 316 . other mechanisms may be devised to lock a folding leg in a fully extended position and unlock the leg for folding . sleeve locks of the two legs belonging to one side of the seat may be connected by a crossbar 116 , as shown in fig1 , 3 , 4 and 8 . in one example , there are two crossbars 116 and 118 , a first crossbar 116 rigidly connecting sleeve locks of a first side of the chair and a second crossbar 118 rigidly connecting sleeve locks of a second side of the chair . in a further example , where the legs of the first side of the chair fold towards each other , a crossbar connects the sleeve locks of the front legs and a second crossbar connects the sleeve locks of the back legs . each crossbar is oriented perpendicular to the respective folding planes of the legs between which the crossbar spans . thus , a crossbar does not interfere with the folding of the legs that the sliding locks of the crossbar engage . in order to raise the height adjustable work seat from the minimum height as shown in fig2 to the full height as shown in fig1 , the mechanic releases any holding device that retains the work seat or chair in the minimum height position , then grasps and lifts the upper portion of the work seat e . g . by the seatback or seat pan . the upper portion of the work seat may be lifted and kept parallel with the floor with all four legs extending or unfolding simultaneously as shown in fig3 , or lifted by one side followed by the other side as shown in fig5 . as the upper portion of the work seat is lifted , the folding legs of one or both sides straighten out , and the center pivots or knee joints move outward from the folded , collapsed or stowed position to the extended or upright position . the mechanic may pull on the crossbars to assist the legs in opening . once the legs are fully extended , the mechanic pushes downward on the locking sleeves until each locking sleeve slides over the corresponding center pivot or knee joint , locking the center pivot or knee joint rigidly in place . as shown in fig8 , suitable protrusions or other stops 802 extending from a portion of each lower leg 804 serve to constrain each locking sleeve 808 , preventing the locking sleeve from sliding further downward on the leg 804 and unlocking the center pivot 806 or knee joint . the mechanic may push on each crossbar to assist the corresponding locking sleeves in sliding over the knee joints of the respective legs . other mechanisms may be devised for retaining the locking sleeve in a locked position at the center pivot , such as a spring - loaded ball on the locking sleeve engaging a detent on a portion of a leg or vice versa . in order to lower the height adjustable work seat from the full or maximum height as shown in fig1 to the minimum height as shown in fig2 , the raising procedure is reversed . the mechanic slides each locking sleeve upward , disengaging the locking sleeve from the corresponding center pivot or knee joint and allowing the respective leg to pivot at the center . the mechanic may pull on the crossbars to assist the corresponding locking sleeves in sliding off of the knee joints of the respective legs . next , the legs are collapsed . each leg may be folded in half , one at a time , or pairs of legs on a side or pairs of legs at a front or a back may be collapsed together , or all four legs may be folded at the same time . the mechanic may press on one or both crossbars to assist the corresponding legs in folding . once the legs are fully collapsed , the mechanic may use the work seat in the minimum height position . in a variation , once the legs are fully collapsed , a holding device such as a latch , a pin or a hook is engaged that retains the work seat or chair in the minimum height position . with reference to fig6 , an example of a knee joint 604 is shown , with the locking sleeve 602 in - place and rigidly securing the knee joint 604 in an open or fully extended position . in the example , the knee joint 604 has a center link 606 or plate with two pivots 608 and 610 , a first pivot 608 pivotally connecting the center link 606 to the upper leg 612 , and a second pivot 610 pivotally connecting the center link 606 to the lower leg 614 . the locking sleeve 602 may completely surround the knee joint 604 when the knee joint is in the fully extended position . with reference to fig7 , variations of the knee joint may be devised . the knee joint may have a center link or one or more side plates or links . in one variation , the knee joint 702 has two side plates or links 704 and 706 flanking respective linking projections 708 and 710 from the lower leg 712 and the upper leg 714 . in order for the side plate or plates to be recessed and allow sliding clearance for a close - fitting locking sleeve , corresponding ends of the folding legs that join at a knee joint may be thinned or have recesses 716 fitting the plates . with reference to fig8 , the extended knee joint is shown rotated by one quarter of a turn about a vertical axis from the view as shown in fig6 . the locking sleeve 808 slides upward 810 or downward 814 along the upper leg 816 to unlock or lock the center pivot 806 or knee joint . one or more of the locking sleeves may be secured in a locked or an unlocked position . a securing device , such as a pin through a hole in the locking sleeve and engaging a hole in an upper leg or in a knee joint plate , fixes the locking sleeve in a selected location . in a variation , the securing device may be a bolt 818 through a threaded hole 820 in the locking sleeve 808 , the bolt being tightened to a friction fit on the upper leg , on the knee joint plate or elsewhere . the pin or bolt may have a knob or other easily grasped head 822 . in a still further variation the securing device may be a bolt through a threaded hole in the locking sleeve and engaging a hole in an upper leg or in a knee joint plate or elsewhere . in one example all four locking sleeves have bolts . other mechanisms for holding each locking sleeve in place with the corresponding leg in a locked or an unlocked position may be devised . with reference to fig9 , the base 902 of the height adjustable work seat may have one or more side trays 904 , tool trays 906 or beverage holders 908 to one or both sides of the mountings for the legs of the seat . a tray or trays may be fixed or removable . a tray may be mounted to or integral with the base or extensions thereof . tools or other working materials , or a beverage for the mechanic , may be placed or stored in the side tray without interfering with the folding mechanism for the legs of the seat . further , with tools so positioned , a mechanic may reach down to grasp a tool rather than having to fumble underneath the seat as when tools are stored in an under - seat tray . with reference to fig1 and 11 , various seating devices may be attached to or otherwise incorporated into the height adjustable work seat . a seat pan 1000 and seatback 1100 provide a comfortable sitting arrangement for a mechanic . the seatback 1100 may be a half - height seatback . in a further example , a seat pan 1000 without a seatback may be fitted to the height adjustable work seat , which then functions as a height adjustable stool . a seat may be formed of a seat pan 1000 as shown in fig1 or a seat pan 112 and integrated seatback 114 , which may be a half - height seatback , as shown in fig1 - 4 . in a still further example , a tray or a platform is fitted in place of the seat pan and seatback , and the height adjustable work seat functions as a height adjustable work tray , a height adjustable platform or a height adjustable seat and tray combination .

0Human Necessities

a probe 10 for use underwater to measure true acoustic intensity is shown generally in fig1 and 2 . the outer casing of probe 10 is preferably made neutrally buoyant , such that wave vibrations affect the probe casing 14 just as they would affect the water which probe 10 displaces . probe casing 14 may include a syntactic foam casting 12 . the cured foam can be used , trimmed or weighted to achieve neutral buoyancy , as needed . while it is preferred that the outer casing be made neutrally buoyant , embodiments of the present invention may be made without a neutrally buoyant outer casing . a compliance layer 16 separates the probe outer casing 14 from a “ coupling - mass ” or secondary casing 18 . the compliance layer may take a variety of forms , and in this embodiment is a thin layer of compliant rubber , such as a silicon rubber . a plurality of sensor elements 20 and 22 are disposed between the inner surface of the “ coupling - mass ” or secondary casing 18 and a central mounting structure or support 24 . in this embodiment , the sensor elements are small piezoelectric wafers 20 and 22 mounted between the “ coupling - mass ” or secondary casing 18 and the support 24 . the probe or sensor 10 is designed to be mounted to a rigid or semi rigid mounting structure such as support 24 . the outer surface of the support 24 or the entire support 24 may be considered an inner sensor support , or a different sensor support may be provided . in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , casting 12 is a rigid syntactic foam material having a density less than that of water and strong enough to withstand high hydrostatic pressure . an appropriate amount of foam is used to allow the casting 12 and the and the rest of the probe casing 14 to have the same mass as the volume of water displaced by the entire probe 10 . the cured foam can be trimmed or weighted to achieve neutral buoyancy . acoustic pressures act to displace the casting 12 and the remainder of the probe casing 14 with the same magnitude and phase of the acoustic particle displacement . motion of the probe casing 14 results in spring - like forces in the compliant rubber 16 which are directly applied to the “ coupling - mass ” or secondary casing 18 . the forces generated at the casing 18 are imparted to the piezoelectric elements 20 and 22 . the piezoelectric sensors 20 and 22 are preferably smaller than the inner surface of the secondary casing 18 . effectively , the entire acoustic pressure exerted on the casting 12 and probe casing 14 are coupled into the smaller area of the piezoelectric elements 20 for frequencies much higher than the resonance exhibited by the compliant rubber layer 16 , the probe casing 14 , and the “ coupling - mass ” or secondary casing 18 . in this embodiment , piezoelectric elements 20 are poled in a 3 - 3 mode , while the elements 22 are poled in a 1 - 5 mode for a response to shear . the electrical signal generated by the piezoelectric elements 20 and 22 correspond to the magnitude and frequency of the sensed vibration . this voltage output is directly proportional to the neutrally buoyant probe casing &# 39 ; s velocity which , in turn , is substantially the same as that of the surrounding water . one novel feature of this invention is the suspension method used to fix the time - average location of the probe . inertial - type probes of the prior art typically involve suspensions of the outer casing which must be allowed to move in concert with the acoustic wave vibrations . generally , any suspension system will limit the response of at least one degree of freedom , if not more . however , the invention treats this probe as a pair of coupled masses , comprising the outer casing 14 and the “ coupling - mass ” casing 18 , with the outer casing 14 mass being negligible due to the buoyancy corrections made by the syntactic foam 12 . it can then easily be shown that above the resonance frequency of the combined system of the compliant layer 16 , the probe casing 14 , and the inner casing 18 , there is essentially no motion of the inner casing 18 . the present invention can exploit this fact by rigidly mounting the probe by the central support 24 . this fixes the time - average location of the probe while having in essence no effect on the probe &# 39 ; s response . since the neutrally buoyant outer casing moves in concert with the acoustically induced motion of water , the probe can be made small relative to the wavelength of the acoustic field . while the overall package of the intensity probe can be made much smaller than that of a prior art inertial - type probes , the non - zero length of the probe still introduces an error in the velocity measurement . it is probably not practical to make the probe smaller than about 1 . 5 cm , but this would still permit operation up to 25 , 000 hz before acoustic scattering becomes significant . in one embodiment of the invention , the syntactic foam casting 12 is a mixture of epoxy resin and glass microballoons . as shown in fig2 , the assembly of rectangular components is centered within a rectangular - shaped casting 12 . pressure sensors 28 and 30 are mounted on the edge of the casting 12 , a portion of each pressure sensor 28 and 30 being directly exposed to the surrounded water and the small gap 32 is sealed with a compliant , waterproof material . pressure hydrophones 28 and 30 can be cast into the end faces of the outer casing 14 , or cemented on casting 12 after the foam has cured . an air - backed piezoceramic bender disk is an example of the type of hydrophone which can be used in probe 10 . in use , the probe 10 can be directly mounted to an external support structure via the central support rod 24 at a desired elevational measurement point and oriented in a desired measurement direction . voltage outputs from the piezoelectric elements 20 are directly proportional to acoustic particle velocity in the plane normal to the support rod 24 while the voltage output from the piezoelectric elements 22 is proportional to the acoustic particle velocity in the direction parallel to the support rod 24 . alternatively , the voltage outputs from the pressure sensors 28 and 30 can be used to approximate the acoustic particle velocity in the direction parallel to the support rod 24 according to the equations given above . combinations of the various signal output of the probe by those skilled in the art yield accurate measurements of the complete vector field of the acoustic intensity . this embodiment provides a probe which is compact , light in weight , easy to handle out of water , and adapts well to a variety of support structures . also , multiple units could be combined along the same support rod 24 to create an array of probes 10 . additionally , the potentially small size can greatly reduce the effect of acoustic field scattering . a second embodiment is shown in fig3 and 4 , in which the probe 10 consists of a plurality of cylindrical layers , rather than square - shaped as indicated in fig1 and 2 . this embodiment is constructed in a similar manner and exhibits roughly the same properties as the first embodiment . the same reference numbers are used for corresponding elements . the outer casing 14 can be more easily adapted to an acoustic pressure means by simply using a piezoelectric cylinder of appropriate dimensions . also , the cylindrical profile further reduces acoustic scattering of the field . a third embodiment is shown in fig5 and 6 , in which the probe 11 consists of a plurality of spherical layers , rather than cylindrical as describe above . in this embodiment , the foam casing 13 encloses a thin walled piezoelectric sphere 15 . this in turn encloses a thin layer of compliant rubber 17 and a smaller “ coupling - mass ” sphere 19 to which are bonded a plurality of six small piezoelectric wafers 21 and a central rigid sphere - rod assembly 25 . the piezoelectric wafers 21 are positioned in pairs along orthogonal cartesian axes such that the average location of the pairs is co - located at the center of the probe 11 . the rigid sphere - and - rod support 25 is oriented such that it emerges from the probe 11 at an angle of forty - five degrees with respect to the axes established by the piezoelectric element 21 pairs so as not to interfere with location of the piezoelectric elements 21 . signals incident on probe 11 will cause motion of the casting 13 and piezoelectric shell or casing 15 . the acoustic pressure of the incident wave is directly measured by the piezoelectric shell 15 . the acoustic forces on the sphere are coupled into the piezoelectric elements 21 identically as described in the first embodiment . however , in this third embodiment , the outer casing 15 is free to move in three - dimensions , i . e . there is no restriction on its motion due to the support provided by the central sphere - and - rod support 25 . the piezoelectric elements 25 are electrically connected in pairs such that each pair outputs a voltage proportional to the acoustic particle acceleration in the direction along the separation vector between them , but produces no output for compressional forces on the element pairs . thus , the probe 11 directly measures the acoustic pressure and the acoustic particle acceleration in three orthogonal directions . a pressure signal from sensor 15 and the appropriate velocity signal from piezoelectric elements 21 are combined to provide the true acoustic intensity . further , a fourth embodiment of the probe 50 is shown in fig7 and 8 , in which the compliant layer 58 and the piezoelectric elements 60 and 62 are reversed as compared to the previously noted embodiments . in this embodiment , neutral buoyancy requires the displaced water mass to be equal to the combined mass of the casting 52 , the outer casing 54 , the “ coupler mass ” casing 56 and the elements 60 and 62 , in order that rigidly mounting the center support has no effect on the sensor response . other details are consistent with previously detailed embodiment descriptions noted above , for example 1 - 5 shear piezoelectric elements 62 may be removed and two hydrophones 68 and 70 may be used to approximate the velocity parallel to the central support . any gaps 72 should be sealed with a highly compliant material . the voltage output of the piezoelectric elements 60 and 62 are directly proportional to the three dimensional acoustic particle acceleration , rather than particle velocity . the output voltage signals can be electrically corrected to be proportional to the particle velocity and then combined with the acoustic pressure signal to compute acoustic intensity of the field . in this configuration , the probe has a slightly higher response to acoustic excitation as compared to above the detailed embodiments . various modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein . for example , the use of syntactic foam is required solely for balancing buoyant forces on the probe and may or may not be necessary in some embodiments of a probe . any rigid material is suitable as a casting or housing around the velocity sensor provided the density of the sensor is the same as the fluid in which measurements are to be made . alternatively , the sensor can be made more or less dense than the fluid it displaces , and a sensor transfer function can be determined and taken into account in acoustic intensity calculations . this can be accomplished by calibrating the output of the sensor to a known acoustic velocity field , such as a plane progressive wave . also , probe 10 , 11 or 50 can produce pressure and velocity signals to be recorded separately for later processing . alternatively , simple electronic circuitry ( not shown ) could be cast into castings 12 , 13 or 52 , or contained within the rigid support rod 24 , 25 or 64 , so that acoustic intensity can be calculated within probe 10 , 11 or 50 . another alternative is to connect the signal output leads to an external device ( i . e . digital signal analyzer ) to calculate acoustic intensity . as will be clear to those of skill in the art , other modifications may also be made . as mentioned previously , the layer of compliant material in the described embodiments may be replaced with other compliance layers . the illustrated layer of compliant silicon rubber is continuous and completely encases the secondary casing or inner support . alternatively , there can be gaps in the layer , or springs or other compliance elements may be used to form the compliance layer . when silicon rubber is used , it is preferred that it be highly compliant , especially in comparison to the generally rigid outer and secondary casings . in some embodiments , the compliant material has a shore a hardness less than 50 , while other embodiments have a hardness less than 30 , and still other have a compliance less than 20 . one version has a hardness of approximately 10 . as will be clear to those of skill in the art , a similar effective compliance may be obtained with harder materials if voids are provided , or through other approaches . in some embodiments , the compliance layer has a thickness of 2 - 4 millimeters , though thicker and thinner layers could be used . the outer and secondary casings may be formed of various materials , with some versions being made of aluminum . outer casings made of piezoelectric material are another possibility , as discussed above . the piezoelectric elements may take a variety of forms , such as being peizoceramic . many other modifications and variations of the invention are possible in view of the above disclosure . it is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described , without departing from the scope or teaching of this invention .

6Physics

fig1 is a cross - sectional view illustrating a method for fabricating a mos transistor according to one embodiment of the invention . fig2 through 5 are graphs illustrating changes in the concentration of dopants in a junction of a mos transistor fabricated in accordance with a method of the invention . with reference to fig1 , a gate insulating layer pattern 130 , a gate conductive layer pattern 140 , and a gate hardmask layer pattern 150 are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate 100 ( e . g ., a silicon substrate ) to form a gate stack . gate spacers 160 are formed on sidewalls of the gate stack . impurity ions are implanted into exposed portions of the semiconductor substrate 100 by a common ion implantation process to form a source region 121 and a drain region 122 . a channel region 110 is defined to a region between the source region 121 and the drain region 122 . in order to form junctions of a lightly doped drain ( ldd ) structure ( not shown ), the impurity ions may be implanted at a relatively low concentration to form source / drain extension regions ( not shown ) before the formation of the gate spacer 160 . further , a well region of a conductivity type opposite to that of the source and drain regions 121 and 122 may be formed in an upper region of the semiconductor substrate 100 before the formation of the gate stack . as indicated by the arrows 170 in fig1 , hydrogen is implanted to reduce the concentration of the dopants in a particular portion of the interface ( i . e . a source junction ) between the source region 121 and the channel region 110 , and in a particular portion of the interface ( i . e . a drain junction ) between the drain region 122 and the channel region 110 . in the case where the mos transistor is a p - channel mos transistor , boron ( b ) ions or bf 2 ions at a high concentration are implanted into the source region 121 and the drain region 122 . when hydrogen is implanted into the source and drain junctions by hydrogen implantation , the hydrogen serves to neutralize the b ions or bf 2 ions present in particular portions of the source and drain junctions , resulting in a reduction in the concentration of the b ions or bf 2 ions in the particular portions . fig2 shows the concentration distribution of dopants ( b ions ) implanted at a high concentration after the formation of the source region 121 and drain region 122 . from the graph of fig2 , it is apparent that the b ions are present at the highest concentration around the surface of the junction , i . e . at the left end of the x - axis of the graph , and that the concentration of the b ions decreases with increasing depth of the junction ( i . e . as the x - axis value increases ) ( see , the line denoted by reference numeral “ 200 ” in fig2 ). referring to fig3 , when hydrogen is implanted to a particular target depth , e . g ., a depth of about 400 å from the surface , the concentration of the hydrogen is the highest at a depth of about 400 å and gradually decreases with increasing and decreasing depth . the implanted hydrogen serves to neutralize the b ions . as shown in fig4 , the b ions are neutralized in the particular portion ( see , the portion “ a ” shown in fig4 ) around a depth of about 400 å , resulting in a reduction in the concentration of the b ions . only a few changes in the concentration of the b ions are observed in the other portions . the graphs of fig2 to 4 show the results measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy ( sims ), while the graph of fig5 shows the results measured by spreading resistance profiling ( srp ). fig5 reveals that the concentration of the dopants activated by hydrogen implantation is reduced at a depth of about 400 å ( see , the portion “ b ” shown in the figure ). the reduction of the concentration of the dopants in the particular portion by hydrogen implantation enables inhibition of short - channel effects without substantially affecting the concentration of the dopants in the other portions , i . e . while minimizing deterioration of the current driving ability of the device . in addition , the reduction of the concentration of the dopants in the particular portion enables increase of punchthrough margin and improvement of leakage current characteristics in the particular portion . the particular portion where the concentration of the dopants is decreased may be determined through various simulation experiments . once the particular portion is determined , the particular portion where the concentration of the dopants is decreased can be controlled by varying the energy required for the hydrogen implantation . in addition , the amount of the dopants to be neutralized can be controlled by varying the dose of the hydrogen implanted . for example , when it is intended to achieve increased punchthrough margin and improved leakage current characteristics in a deep portion of a junction , a target for hydrogen implantation is set in a lower portion of the junction and the concentration of dopants to be activated in the lower portion of the junction is decreased . similarly , when it is intended to achieve increased punchthrough margin and improved leakage current characteristics at the surface of a junction , a target for hydrogen implantation is set in an upper portion of the junction and the concentration of dopants to be activated in the upper portion of the junction is decreased . fig6 and 7 are graphs comparing changes in the concentration of dopants in a junction of a mos transistor to which halo ion implantation is applied , with changes in the concentration of dopants in a junction of a mos transistor fabricated in accordance with the method of the invention . fig6 shows changes in the concentration of dopants in a junction of a mos transistor to which halo ion implantation is applied . the line denoted by reference numeral “ 610 ” represents changes in the concentration of dopants of a first conductivity type in source / drain regions , and the line denoted by reference numeral “ 620 ” represents changes in the concentration of dopants of a second conductivity type implanted by halo ion implantation . “ c ” and “ d ” shown in the figure indicate changes in the concentration of the dopants of a first conductivity type , particularly the concentration of the dopants activated . fig7 shows changes in the concentration of dopants in a junction of a mos transistor fabricated by hydrogen implantation in accordance with the method of the invention . the line denoted by reference numeral “ 710 ” represents changes in the concentration of dopants of a first conductivity type in the source / drain regions 121 / 122 , and the line denoted by reference numeral “ 720 ” represents changes in the concentration of hydrogen implanted by hydrogen implantation . “ e ” shown in the figure indicates changes in the concentration of the dopants of a first conductivity type activated only in a particular portion , that is , around a target depth into which the hydrogen is implanted . fig7 also shows that few changes in the concentration of the dopants activated are observed in the other portions . fig8 is a cross - sectional view illustrating a method for fabricating a mos transistor according to another embodiment of the invention . referring to fig8 , hydrogen is fed into junctions by hydrogen annealing in the method of this embodiment , which is distinguished from the method of the previous embodiment by hydrogen implantation . according to the method of this embodiment , an mos transistor is fabricated by the following procedure . first , a semiconductor substrate 100 is loaded into a furnace 810 . as explained with respect to fig1 , a gate stack is formed on the semiconductor substrate 100 and ion implantation is performed to form a source region 121 and a drain region 122 . before or after the formation of the gate stack , the source region 121 and the drain region 122 , hydrogen is fed into the furnace 800 to create a hydrogen ambient , as indicated by the arrows 810 in fig8 . then , annealing is performed at above a predetermined temperature such that the hydrogen is fed into particular portions of junctions of the source / drain regions . the annealing may be performed by a common heat treatment process . if needed , the annealing may be performed by rapid thermal processing ( rtp ). regardless of which process is employed , the particular portions of the junctions of the source / drain regions and the amount of the dopants to be neutralized can be controlled by varying the internal temperature of the furnace 800 and the amount of the hydrogen fed .

7Electricity

fig1 and 3 show a land rig 10 in accordance with the present disclosure which includes a substructure 12 and a mast 14 . the substructure comprises two side structures 16 and 18 . each side structure 16 and 18 has a base 20 and 22 and a floor support structure 24 and 26 . legs 30 and 32 , a strut 36 and telescopic locking legs 28 and 34 are arranged between the base 20 and the floor support structure 24 on an outer side 37 of the side structure 16 . a similar arrangement of legs , generally identified by reference numeral 38 is on an inner side 39 of the side structure 16 . similarly , an arrangement of legs 40 is arranged between base 22 and floor structure support 26 on the outer side 41 of the side structure 18 and a similar arrangement of legs , generally identified by reference numeral 42 is on an inner side 43 of the side structure 18 . the two side structures 16 and 18 are spaced by spacer pole ( s ) 44 connected between bases 20 and 22 . a rig floor center section 45 sits between and is supported by the floor support structures 24 and 26 . the mast 14 comprises two front mast legs 46 and 47 and two rear mast uprights 48 and ( not shown ). structural latticework 49 is arranged between the front legs 46 and 47 and the two rear mast uprights 48 and ( not shown ). structural latticework may also be arranged between the two front mast legs 46 and 47 and between the two rear mast uprights 48 and ( not shown ), although structural latticework is arranged not to obstruct the v - door opening , so that tubulars and downhole tools can be moved from storage off - rig into pipe setback 50 and to mouse hole 51 a and well center 52 . a rat hole 51 is provided for a kelly ( not shown ) for use in a rotary table ( not shown ). one side of the mast 14 may be substantially free of latticework to allow tubulars and other equipment move freely to and from alignment with well center 52 and on and off rig . pinned connections are provided at each foot of the front mast legs 46 and 47 . each foot is pinned to lugs 46 b and 47 b of mast shoes 46 c and 47 c supported by the side structures 16 and 18 . each shoulder 48 a and ( not shown ) of the two rear mast uprights 48 and ( not shown ) has a lower strut 49 a angled to return to foot 46 a and 47 a . a gin pole 48 b and ( not shown ) is arranged between shoulder 48 a and ( not shown ) and lug 49 d and 50 d of mast shoes 49 c and 50 c respectively . a wireline 53 is arranged around a reel 54 of a drawworks 55 arranged on the rig floor 45 or on a skid 56 supported between the floor support structures 24 and 26 . the wireline 53 passes over a crown sheave or block 57 to a travelling block 58 for raising and lowering a top drive 60 on a track 61 over well center 52 . racking board 62 and stabbing board 63 are hinged to the mast 14 and supported by racking board support poles 64 and stabbing board poles 65 respectively . a mud flow line 65 a is arranged along front mast leg 47 . tubulars , such as drill pipe 66 and casing 67 is conveyed from an off - rig storage stock pile ( not shown ) to pipe setback 50 using a pipe conveyor 68 and pipe handling equipment 71 and 72 . the pipe handling equipment 71 and 72 are arranged on front corners of the rig floor center section 45 . other tools , such as iron roughnecks 69 and 70 are arranged on the rig floor center section 45 about well center 52 and mousehole 51 for making up stands of drill pipe . fig4 shows a first stage of erection of the land rig 10 shown in fig1 to 3 . the two side structures 16 and 18 have been off - loaded from one or more trucks . each base 20 and 22 of each side structure 16 and 18 is arranged on the ground and placed parallel and in concert with one another at a predetermined spacing . fixing the spacer pole 44 between the two bases 20 and 22 confirms the two side structures 16 and 18 are spaced correctly . each floor support structure 24 and 26 is arranged on top of respective base 20 and 22 . the floor support structures 24 have a width and an underneath provided with a lug 80 and ( not shown ) attached on each side . a top lug 81 of leg 30 is rotatably pinned to lug 80 . top lug 82 of the telescopic leg 28 is also rotatably pinned to lug 80 . bottom lug 83 of leg 30 is rotatably pinned to a foot lug 84 in a middle portion 85 of the base 20 . a bottom lug 86 of telescopic locking leg 28 is rotatably pinned to a foot lug 87 in rear portion 88 of the base 20 . the telescopic locking leg 28 is in a retracted position . the floor support structures 24 a front end lug 90 and ( not shown ) on each side of a front end . the front end lug 90 has a top lug 91 of telescopic locking leg 34 rotatably pinned thereto . bottom lug 92 of telescopic locking leg 34 is rotatably pinned to a foot lug 93 on a front portion 94 of the base 20 . a top lug 95 of leg 32 is rotatably pinned to a pin 96 in a side wall 97 floor support structures 24 and a bottom lug 98 of leg 32 is rotatably pinned to a foot lug 99 fixed to the front portion 94 of the base 20 . a primary lifting ram 100 is arranged between the two sides of side structure 16 . the primary lifting ram 100 has an outer cylinder 100 a with a lower ram lug 101 fixed thereto . the lower ram lug 101 is rotatably arranged on a lower ram axel 102 fixed between the two sides of side structure 16 in the central portion 83 of base 20 . an upper ram lug 103 is fixed on an inner cylinder 104 of primary lifting ram 100 . the primary lifting ram 100 may have one or more concentric intermediate cylinders 105 for telescoping a predetermined distance . the upper ram lug 103 is rotatably pinned to a mast lug 106 . the mast lug 106 is advantageously located on the front leg 46 , preferably at a point below and advantageously between the center of gravity 108 and the foot of the front mast leg 46 . the center of gravity symbol identified by reference numeral 108 shows the position of the center of gravity of the mast 14 and anything else attached thereto at this stage of erection , such as the crown block 57 , gin poles 49 b and racking and stabbing boards 62 and 63 . a primary lifting ram 110 is located between sides of side structure 18 in a similar manner to the primary lifting ram 100 in side structure 16 . a further mast lug ( not shown ) is fixed on the other front mast leg 47 and an upper ram lug 111 ( see fig3 ) is rotatably pinned thereto . a lower ram lug 112 is similarly rotatably pinned to a foot lug ( not shown ). front mast legs 46 and 47 are rotatably pinned to lugs 46 b and 47 b respectively and the mast lies substantially horizontally . a top portion of the mast 14 rests on a dolly ( not shown ), part of a truck ( not shown ) or other suitable rest . the gin poles 49 b and ( not shown ) are connected to a lower portion of the mast 14 . the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 may , for example be 18 ″ ( 457 mm ) two stage cylinder having outer cylinder 100 a with a first stage bore size of 18 ″ ( 457 mm ), an intermediate cylinder 105 with a second stage bore size of 15 ″ ( 381 mm ). the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 may , for example have a full extend length 46 ′ ( 14 m ), working pressure 2600 psi ( 180 bar ). the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are preferably driven by hydraulic fluid flowing into the cylinders 124 , 125 and 126 and advantageously by a common supply , such that the primary lifting rams operate in unison . referring to fig5 a , there is shown an enlarged view of part of the apparatus shown in fig5 , wherein a locking lug 115 is fixed to the underneath of the floor support structure 24 . a further locking lug 116 is provided on a rear end of the base 20 . a pin 117 is provided to lock the base 20 to the floor support structure 24 . the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are activated simultaneously to extend from a fully refracted position . as the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 extend , the mast 14 is raised about pinned connection 46 c and 47 c . the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 sweep across an arc of preferably eighty degrees , starting from a two o &# 39 ; clock position ( approximately thirty degrees from horizontal ) anti - clockwise as viewed in fig4 to 6 , through a twelve o &# 39 ; clock position , over - vertical to a twenty minutes past eleven o &# 39 ; clock position ( approximately seventy degrees from horizontal ) when the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are fully extended , whereupon feet of gin poles 49 b and ( not shown ) meet the mast shoes 49 c and 50 c and are pin connected together . upper ends of the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are disconnected from the mast lugs 106 and ( not shown ), retracted and rotated about pin connection 101 , 102 to lie down on the base 20 , as shown in fig7 . pin 117 of the locking lug 115 is removed to unlock the base 20 from the floor support structure 24 . each floor lifting ram 120 and ( not shown ) is arranged within each side structure 16 and 18 . each floor lifting ram 120 and ( not shown ) has a lower cylinder 124 of small diameter having a lower end provided with a lower lug 121 rotatably pinned to a side of the rear portion 88 of the base 20 . each floor lifting ram 120 and ( not shown ) also has an intermediate cylinder 125 and an upper cylinder 126 of large diameter . the upper cylinder has an upper end provided with an upper lug 122 , which is rotatably pinned to a mast shoe lug 123 fixed to or formed integrally with the mast shoe 46 c . the floor lifting rams 120 and ( not shown ) may , for example be 18 ″ ( 457 mm ) two stage cylinder having outer cylinder 100 a with a first stage bore size of 18 ″ ( 457 mm ), an intermediate cylinder 105 with a second stage bore size of 15 ″ ( 381 mm ). the lifting rams 100 and 110 may , for example have a full extend length of 28 ′ 6 ″ ( 8 . 7 m ), working pressure 2600 psi ( 180 bar ). the floor lifting rams 120 and ( not shown ) are preferably driven by hydraulic fluid flowing into the cylinders 124 , 125 and 126 and advantageously by a common hydraulic supply , such that the lifting rams operate in unison . the floor lifting rams 120 and ( not shown ) are activated simultaneously to raise the floor support structures 24 and 26 and everything supported thereby or thereon to an intermediate height , such as 5 m . at this stage , any or all of the following may be on or supported by the floor support structures 24 and 26 : drawworks 55 , pipe setback 50 , iron roughnecks 69 , 70 , top drive 60 , top drive tracks 61 , center floor section 45 , dog house ( not shown ), rotary table ( not shown ) etc .. referring to fig8 , each of primary lifting rams 110 and 120 is swung about pinned connection 101 , 102 . the upper lug 103 is connected to a pin connection 127 in a side wall of the floor support structure 24 and similarly an upper lug of primary lifting ram 120 is connected to a pin connection in a side wall of the floor support structure 26 . the floor lifting rams 120 and ( not shown ) are disconnected from the floor support structures 24 and 26 by removing upper lug 122 from mast shoe lug 123 . the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are activated simultaneously to raise the floor support structures 24 and 26 and everything supported thereby or thereon to working height , for example 10 m . telescopic legs 28 and 34 are locked in their extended position by pins located through holes ( not shown ). the primary lifting rams 100 and 110 are then disconnected from the floor support structures 24 and 26 . the strut 36 is added and fixed between the central portion 83 of the base 20 and the floor support structure 24 . similarly , a further strut ( not shown ) is added between base 22 and floor support structure 26 . all of the primary and floor lifting rams 100 , 110 , 120 and ( not shown ) can now to laid down on the bases 20 and 22 or removed therefrom . the mast 14 may be any suitable known type , such as a single - piece , multi - piece , and / or telescoping type . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the techniques disclosed herein can be implemented for automated / autonomous applications via software configured with algorithms to perform the desired functions . these aspects can be implemented by programming one or more suitable general - purpose computers having appropriate hardware . the programming may be accomplished through the use of one or more program storage devices readable by the processor ( s ) and encoding one or more programs of instructions executable by the computer for performing the operations described herein . the program storage device may take the form of , e . g ., one or more floppy disks ; a cd rom or other optical disk ; a read - only memory chip ( rom ); and other forms of the kind well known in the art or subsequently developed . the program of instructions may be “ object code ,” i . e ., in binary form that is executable more - or - less directly by the computer ; in “ source code ” that requires compilation or interpretation before execution ; or in some intermediate form such as partially compiled code . the precise forms of the program storage device and of the encoding of instructions are immaterial here . aspects of the invention may also be configured to perform the described functions ( via appropriate hardware / software ) solely on site and / or remotely controlled via an extended communication ( e . g ., wireless , internet , satellite , etc .) network . while the embodiments are described with reference to various implementations and exploitations , it will be understood that these embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the inventive subject matter is not limited to them . many variations , modifications , additions and improvements are possible . for example , various combinations of the features provided herein may be provided . plural instances may be provided for components , operations or structures described herein as a single instance . in general , structures and functionality presented as separate components in the exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component . similarly , structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components . these and other variations , modifications , additions , and improvements may fall within the scope of the inventive subject matter .

4Fixed Constructions

preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawing ( fig4 to 6 ). fig4 shows a mos transistor 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a protective element 11 . the mos transistor 10 is comprised of a gate electrode 5 a , heavily - doped n - type diffusion regions 3 a and 3 b , probe pads 7 a , 7 b , and 7 c , and the like , and has a structure similar to that of the prior art shown in fig1 . the protective element 11 is connected to the gate electrode pad 7 a . the structure of this protective element 11 will be described below . the protective element 11 has a gate electrode 5 b and heavily - doped n - type diffusion regions 3 b and 3 c formed adjacent to the gate electrode 5 b . the gate electrode 5 b is connected to a pad 8 through a contact 6 . the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b is connected to the gate pad 7 a of the mos transistor 10 . the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 c is connected to a heavily - doped p - type diffusion region 4 , which is formed away from the region 3 c , through an interconnection 9 b . the gate electrode 5 a of the mos transistor 10 is connected to the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b of the protective element 11 through an interconnection 9 . the charge built up on the pad 7 a in a plasma process or the like flows into the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b of the protective element 11 through the interconnection 9 . this increases the potential of the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b . at the same time , charge builds up on the pad 8 for the gate electrode 5 b of the protective element 11 in the same manner , and its potential increases . as a result , the protective element 11 is turned on . when plasma etching for interconnections is performed , charge build up on the gate pad 7 a of the mos transistor 10 and the gate pad 8 of the protective element 11 to almost the same level because the pads have the same size . for this reason , the potentials of the respective pads become almost equal . the potentials at this time are generally several volts or higher . on the other hand , since the threshold voltage of the protective element 11 is generally one volt or lower , the channel of the protective element 11 is turned on when charge builds up on the pad 8 . in addition , the potential of the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b connected to the pad 7 a becomes higher than that of the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 c by several volts or higher . for this reason , current conducts between the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b of the protective element 11 and the heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 c . the charge built upon on the gate electrode 5 a of the mos transistor 10 flows into the p - type substrate 1 through the channel of the protective element 11 and the heavily - doped p - type diffusion region 4 . according to the characteristics obtained when the channel of the protective element 11 is turned on , as shown in fig5 the channel current abruptly increases with an increase in gate voltage . that is , the protective element 11 behaves like a resistor connected to the p - type substrate 1 , and the charge flowing into the gate electrode pad 7 a of the protective element 11 flows into the substrate according to the characteristics indicated by “( a )” in fig5 . note that the current flowing from the plasma and the gate voltage have a predetermined relationship , which is indicated as a plasma current ( dotted line ) in fig5 . the plasma current does not have much dependence on the gate current and can be approximately regarded as a constant current . that is , charging by the plasma can be prevented by forming a path through which the current escapes . in this manner , charge buildup on the gate electrode of the mos transistor 10 is prevented , thereby preventing damage to the gate oxide film . in measuring the characteristics of the mos transistor after completion of the manufacturing process , since the channel of the protective element 11 is turned off when the potential of the pad 8 of the protective element 11 is set to be equal to that of the p - type substrate 1 , the gate electrode 5 a of the mos transistor 10 is connected to only the diode ( heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 b ). measurement can therefore be performed without any problem . in addition , since charge builds up on the gate electrode 5 b of the protective element 11 by the plasma , like the gate electrode 5 a of the mos transistor 10 , the gate insulating film of the protective element 11 may be damaged . to prevent this , it is preferable to increase the channel width and channel length of the protective element 11 and to decrease the antenna ratio . in addition , when the threshold voltage of the protective element 11 is set to be lower than that of the mos transistor 10 , the protective element 11 can be easily turned on . this improves the protective effect . the second embodiment of the present invention will be described next with reference to fig6 . if the amount of charge flowing from a plasma is excessively large , the gate insulating film of the protective element 11 may be damaged and destroyed . in such a case , no protective effect can be expected . for this reason , protection by a diode is added to reduce the plasma damage to the protective element 11 itself . fig6 is a plan view of a mos transistor according to the second embodiment . the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an interconnection 9 d is connected to a pad 8 for a gate electrode 5 b of a protective element 11 , and a pad 8 is connected to a heavily - doped n - type diffusion region 3 d through the interconnection 9 d . a diode d is therefore formed by the protective element 11 . when charge builds up on the gate electrode 5 b of the protective element 11 , the diode d breaks down to allow the charge in the gate electrode 5 b to escape into the p - type substrate 1 . even if the diode is added to the protective element 11 in this manner , the characteristics of the element do not change , and hence the same protection performance as that in the first embodiment can be expected , as indicated by “( a )” in fig5 . in the second embodiment , the mos transistor is described as an estimation transistor . however , the present invention is not limited to this . even in general mos transistors used in integrated circuits , when long interconnections are connected to gate electrodes , the same problem concerning charge buildup as that described above arises . therefore , the influences of charge buildup can be prevented by applying the present invention to such circuits .

7Electricity

this invention proposes the design of a central tower receiver using molten salts with a defined configuration , which facilitates its functioning and control during the operation of the thermoelectric solar plant . the main advantage of the design which is the object of this invention is that its implementation allows the useful life of the receiver to be increased and a decrease in the differences in temperature between the feed entrance and exit in the pipes which the receiver is composed of . as a consequence , there would be a reduction in the thermal tensions experienced by the material which can result in structural damage , such as fractures and cracks , mainly in the welded areas . to achieve this , a system is proposed involving recirculation of a percentage of the exit flow of the receiver ( mixture of hot molten salts ) upon their entrance . this flow percentage must result in the lowest possible load loss , generating at the same time admissible thermal losses for a fixed level of receiver efficiency . the receiver proposed in this invention , in order to reduce thermal losses , will be of a cavity type . cavity type receivers are defined as those which are installed at the top of a tower inside a gap or cavity , in order to minimize thermal losses due to radiation or convection . the configuration is in a semi cylindrical shape composed of panels , the receiver area is determined according to the thermal power of the design . the panels are formed of a combination of vertical pipes . the semi cylindrical shape of the receiver allows the maximization of the capture of solar radiation by the heliostat field . the cold molten salt ( heat transfer fluid ), originating from the storage tank , is not directly introduced into the receiver , as occurs in state - of - the - art systems , but supplies a mixture deposit which collects cold salt as well as a part of the hot recirculating salt mixing them together in the deposit , so that afterwards said mixture , of cold and hot molten salts , is introduced in the upper part of the vertical pipes which the receiver consists of . on the lower part , the hot salt is collected . part of the exit flow of this hot salt ( this proportion is defined for reasons of recirculation ) is recirculated in the mixture deposit and the rest is carried to the hot salt storage tank . the heating of the salt mixture is produced as the fluid advances through the interior of the combination of vertical pipes in the panels , absorbing the incident solar radiation on the surface . the configuration of the panels which the receiver consists of is in parallel . the distribution of the entrance fluid ( mixture of cold and hot molten salts ) within the panels is carried out using control valves on the upper part . the distribution of the flow of fluid is based on the incident solar radiation power in the panels ( distribution of non uniform incident flow over time ). as a result , in the panels which receive greater incident radiant power , a greater flow of refrigeration will circulate , in this way ensuring that the gradients in the pipe walls of the receivers are at a minimum during their operation . the recirculation of a part of the exit flow of the receiver ( hot molten salt ) at its entrance allows , as previously mentioned , reductions in the temperature variations between the entrance and the exit of the vertical pipes of the panels of which the receiver consists of and , as a consequence , reductions in the thermal dilations of the materials from which the pipes are manufactured . however , as the recirculation percentage increases , not only is there an increase in the difference in temperatures between the entrance and the exit of the vertical tubes that the receiver is composed of , but the load losses in the system increase , so that greater impulsion power of the working fluid is required . furthermore , the temperature of the metal in the surface of the receiver is greater , resulting in greater thermal losses , mainly due to radiation . as a result , a suitable selection with regards to optimal recirculation for established design power will lead to optimal functioning of the receiver . the proposed configuration of the molten salt receiver ( system with recirculation ) minimizes the technological risks which are present in other receivers , in those which the thermal cycles which the material must bear are stronger and , as a result , have a greater impact on the material . this device must offer solutions to some of the problems detected that exist in molten salt receiver technology and provide advantages in its use , such as the reduction in the risk of damage to the structure and the material of the receiver ; and increase the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle with respect to that currently obtained with saturated and / or overheated steam receivers , thanks to which greater working temperatures are reached . to complete the description that is being made and with the object of assisting in a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention , accompanying said description is a set of drawings wherein , by way of illustration and not restrictively , the following has been represented : fig1 . configuration of a molten salt receiver formed by a panel with a recirculation system . fig2 . configuration of a molten salt receiver formed by four panels with a recirculation system . fig3 . geometry of a molten salt receiver formed by four panels . a list is provided below with the references used in the figures : ( 1 ) entrance flow to the receiver ( 2 ) exit flow from the receiver ( 3 ) entrance flow to the hot salt storage tank ( 4 ) recirculation flow of hot salt ( 5 ) entrance flow of cold salt to the mixer ( 6 ) mixer ( flows 4 and 5 ) ( 7 ) impulsion pump of the molten salt mixture ( 8 ) cold molten salt storage tank ( 9 ) hot molten salt storage tank ( 10 ) receiver panel formed by vertical pipes ( 11 ) panel 2 e ( east ) of the receiver ( 12 ) panel 1 e ( east ) of the receiver ( 13 ) panel 1 w ( west ) of the receiver ( 14 ) panel 2 w ( west ) of the receiver ( 15 ) control valve for the flow distribution of panel 2 e ( 16 ) control valve for the flow distribution of panel 1 e ( 17 ) control valve for the flow distribution of panel 1 w ( 18 ) control valve for the flow distribution of panel 2 w ( 19 ) focus point of the heliostat field to achieve a better understanding of the invention , there is a description below of the system and operation of a central tower receiver system using molten salts . as observed in fig1 , the molten salt receiver ( 10 ) is formed by a panel composed of vertical pipes . the cold molten salt ( 5 ), originating from the tank in which it is stored ( 8 ), is carried to supply a mixture deposit ( 6 ) where , by way of a supply line , hot molten salts ( 4 ) also arrive , so that the exit flow from the mixer ( 6 ) enters the upper part of the vertical pipes of which the receiver is composed of ( 10 ). on the lower part of said pipes , the hot salt is collected ( 2 ). part of the exit flow ( 2 ) ( the quantity being defined for reasons of recirculation which are established ) recirculates ( 4 ) to the mixture deposit ( 6 ) and the rest ( 3 ) is carried to the hot salt storage tank ( 9 ). the heating of the mixture of cold and hot salts ( 1 ) entering the receiver ( 10 ) is produced as the fluid advances through the interior of the combination of vertical pipes in the panels , absorbing the incident solar radiation on the surface . shown in the configuration of the four panel receiver ( fig2 ) is the circulation circuit of the working fluid in parallel through the panels and the flow of recirculation ( 4 ) from the exit ( 2 ) to the entrance ( 1 ) of the receiver . each panel ( 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 ) is composed of a combination of vertical pipes . the circulation of the fluid inside the receiver is identical to that described for fig1 . as observed in fig3 , the molten salt receiver is formed by four panels ( 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 ) with a semi cylindrical disposition . this configuration manages to collect all the solar energy reflected by the heliostat field which is directed at the focus point ( 19 ). the heat transfer fluid used in a preferred embodiment is a mixture of molten nitrate salts ; a preferred composition would be formed by 60 % of nano 3 and 40 % of kno 3 .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

in accordance with the process , heavy crude oil is first heated and then pumped through a permeable ceramic membrane unit at high differential pressure using a cross - flow arrangement . useful conditions are as follows : feed temperature : 90 ° c . to boiling temperature of the oil or upper limit of membrane capability differential pressure : 40 psig to maximum allowable differential pressure of the membrane feed flow rate : depends on total surface area of the membrane unit and will be about 1 - 10 liters / hr . per m 2 of available membrane surface membrane capabilities : operable at trans - membrane pressure of 1450 psig and temperature up to 480 ° c . the experiments underlying the invention were carried out in the batch ultrafiltration unit shown schematically in fig1 . the unit included a membrane module 1 shown in fig2 and comprising a 5 . 08 cm o . d .× 1 . 9 cm i . d . tubular steel housing 2 containing a 25 cm long × 1 cm o . d . single tube ceramic membrane element 3 . the membrane elements used were obtained from united states filter corporation of warrendale , pa . and are identified by the trade mark membralox . the membrane elements were single tube asymmetric ceramic membranes composed of alumina . each element comprised layered composites , with the outer layer having the smallest pores . the membrane element 3 was inwardly spaced from the housing wall to form an annulus 4 . the open ends of the annulus and housing were closed by ferrules 5 carrying o - ring 6 , o - ring 7 and end plates 8 , 9 . the end plate 8 formed an inlet 10 for feed and the end plate 9 formed an outlet 11 for retentate . the housing side wall 12 formed an outlet 13 for the permeate and an outlet 14 for collecting a permeate sample or draining the permeate side of the module . a first reservoir tank 18 , containing heavy crude oil feed , was equipped with a stirrer 33 and was externally heated by an electrical heating band 32 . the heavy crude oil feed was delivered through valve 19 to the feed pump 20 and pumped to the internal retentate recycle line 35 through the filter 21 using line 22 . a second reservoir tank 15 , containing toluene , was also connected to the feed pump through valve 16 and shut - off valve 17 . the heavy oil feed and the internal retentate recycle were pumped through the membrane tube at high velocity using the recycle pump 23 . the internal retentate recycle rate was monitored using flowmeter 34 . during normal operation shut - off valve 29 was closed and the retentate was mostly recycled through line 35 to ensure a high cross - flow velocity in the membrane tube . a small portion of the retentate also flowed through the relief valve 30 that was used to control the pressure in the membrane . the permeate flowed through valve 25 , filter 26 , flowmeter 27 , valve 28 and was recovered at point p of fig1 . in addition , a permeate sample could be withdrawn through valve 24 . during the initial part of the operation , permeate was recycled to the feed tank by switching valve 28 so that the permeate was returned to the reservoir tank through line 36 and valve 31 . once the permeate asphaltene content was at the desired level , valve 28 was switched so that permeate was recovered at point p . in the operation of the unit , heavy oil was heated in tank 18 and the membrane unit filled with this oil within 1 minute using the feed pump 20 . the unit was purged of trapped air by opening valve 29 . subsequently valve 29 was closed and the recycle pump 23 was started . the relief valve 30 was then adjusted to obtain the desired pressure in the membrane tube . valve 25 was opened and valve 28 was switched so that permeate was directed through line 36 back to the feed tank . permeate samples were also withdrawn through valve 24 . once the initial permeate recycle period was complete , valve 28 was switched such that the permeate flow exited at point p . most comparisons made in the tables are based on initial flux . that is , for the case of no permeate recycle initial flux is the flux measured as soon as the membrane unit has reached steady state ( about 20 minutes ) and for the case of permeate recycle the flux is that flux measured after about 3 hours once the permeate recycle has been stopped . as shown in fig1 permeate can be recycled to the front end of the membrane unit . recycling is commenced when a non - fouled membrane is placed in operation and is continued until there is a sharp change in diminution of flux rate . at about this point , ( identified by the numeral 100 in fig3 ), recycling is terminated while ultrafiltration is continued . intermittent back - pulsing can be practised by backflowing permeate through the membrane wall to clear the gel layer when it accumulates . a small amount (& lt ; 10 wt . %) of a diluent , such as benzene or toluene , can be added to the feed to reduce viscosity , if desired . this example compares the results obtained in the first stage of the operation , each conducted under the same conditions with the exception that in one run no permeate was recycled and in the other run all of the permeate was recycled for a preliminary period of 3 hours . the membrane used had an average pore diameter of ˜ 1000 ° a . table i______________________________________feed temperature : 120 ° c . inlet pressure : 97 psigfluid velocity through membrane : 7 - 9 m / s run 1 run 2duration of recycle period , hrs . nil 3feed - cold lake crude oilasphaltene , wt . % 18 . 3 18 . 3ni , ppm 76 76v , ppm 190 190viscosity @ 40 ° c ., cps 5 , 825 5 , 825api gravity 10 . 1 10 . 1initial permeate sampleflux , kg / m . sup . 2 / day 105 64asphaltene , wt . % 12 . 6 5 . 3ni , ppm 60 35v , ppm 151 85viscosity @ 40 ° c ., cps 1 , 525 710api gravity 11 . 8 13 . 8 % reduction in : asphaltenes 31 71ni 21 54v 21 55______________________________________ this example shows the improvement obtained by permeate recycle in the context of a membrane having an average pore diameter of 500 ° a . the conditions and data for two runs carried out at the same conditions , except for recycling , are set forth in table ii . table ii______________________________________feed temperature : 120 ° c . inlet pressure : 95 psigfluid velocity through membrane : 7 m / s run 1 run 2duration of recycle period ( hrs ) nil 4feed - cold lake crude oilasphaltene , wt . % 18 . 3 18 . 3initial permeate sampleasphaltene , wt . % 13 . 9 5 . 1 % reduction in asphaltenes 24 72______________________________________ this example compares the results of a run carried out using a 200 ° a average pore size ceramic membrane , without recycle , and a run carried out with a 1000 ° a average pore size ceramic membrane , with recycle . table iii______________________________________feed temperature : 120 ° c . inlet pressure : 95 psigfluid velocity through membrane : 7 - 9 m / smembrane pore size : 200 ° a 1000 ° aduration of recycle : nil 3 hrs . feed : cold lake crude oilasphaltene , wt . % 18 . 3 18 . 3initial permeate sampleflux , kg / m . sup . 2 / day 34 61asphaltene wt . % 3 . 4 3 . 7 % asphaltene reduction 81 80______________________________________ the data of table iii shows that the 1000 ° a membrane , operated with an initial recycle period , had the same degree of separation as that obtained with the 200 ° a membrane . however , the flux rate was 61 kg / m 2 / day with the 1000 ° a membrane whereas it was only 34 kg / m 2 / day with the 200 ° a membrane . otherwise stated , operation with the large pore membrane using recycle attained a significant increase in permeate flux without loss in asphaltene separation , when compared to the results achieved with the 200 ° a pore size membrane . this example assesses the rate of diminution of flux rate during and after the initial recycle period . a run was carried out on cold lake crude oil having asphaltene content of 18 . 3 wt . %. the ceramic membrane used had an average pore size of 1000 ° a . the oil was at a temperature of 120 ° c . and pressure of 97 psig when introduced into the membrane . the fluid velocity through the membrane tube was 9 m / s . the permeate was recycled for 2 hours . the run was continued for a total of 8 hours . table 4 sets forth the permeate flux rates in kg / m 2 / day , measured at the end of each hour of the run . table iv______________________________________time - on - stream permeate fluxhrs kg / m . sup . 2 / day______________________________________0 . 2 3600 . 3 3160 . 6 3010 . 9 3141 . 1 881 . 6 612 . 6 513 . 1 494 . 0 534 . 9 595 . 6 606 . 5 558 . 1 58______________________________________ this example shows that within 3 hours the flux rate diminution had levelled off and remained generally constant thereafter . this example demonstrates how to determine the duration of the permeate recycle period . a run was carried out using cold lake crude oil having asphaltene content of about 19 wt . %. the run was carried out at a temperature of 120 ° c . and an inlet pressure of 97 psig . the fluid velocity through the membrane was about 9 m / s . the ceramic membrane had an average pore size of 1000 ° a . the run was conducted without permeate recycle . the results are tabulated in table v . table v______________________________________ permeate permeate flux asphaltenetime - on - stream rate content %( hrs ) ( kg / m . sup . 2 / day ) ( wt . %) reduction______________________________________0 . 25 383 18 . 6 0 . 50 . 43 301 18 . 9 0 . 50 . 62 251 18 . 9 0 . 50 . 93 220 18 . 2 41 . 3 223 18 . 8 11 . 8 188 17 . 3 92 . 8 58 16 . 4 143 . 9 49 10 . 6 444 . 9 53 4 . 2 786 . 1 57 4 . 2 787 . 1 56 -- -- 7 . 9 52 3 . 8 80______________________________________ the data shows that , after an initial period of about 4 hours , the membrane had operated to achieve an asphaltene reduction of about 70 %. the recommended permeate recycle period would be 4 hours in such a case . this example demonstrates that a ceramic membrane having an average pore size of 2000 ° a can perform as well as one of 1000 ° a . runs were carried out using 1000 ° a and 2000 ° a membranes fed with cold lake crude oil at a temperature of 160 ° c . with a pressure of 95 psi . the permeate was recycled for an initial period of 2 hours . the results are reported below . table vi______________________________________pore size : 1000 ° a 2000 ° a______________________________________flux ( kg / m . sup . 2 / day ) 65 70asphaltene reduction (%) 75 80______________________________________ the data of table vi are reported for a time of 3 hours recycle plus 3 hours operation ( total 6 hours ).

1Performing Operations; Transporting

referring now to the drawings , there is illustrated in fig1 a hydrokinetic torque converter , shown generally at 10 , includes a bladed impeller 12 connected drivably to a vehicle engine crankshaft 14 . a bladed turbine 16 is connected to drive sprocket 18 of a chain transfer drive . a bladed stator 20 is located between the toroidal flow exit section of the turbine of the turbine flow entrance section of the impeller and acts in known fashion to change the direction of the toroidal fluid flow , thus making possible a torque multiplication in the torque converter 10 . during steady - state operation in higher gear ratios , a friction bypass clutch 22 may be engaged to drivably connect the impeller 12 and the turbine 16 , thus effectively removing the hydrokinetic torque flow path from the driveline . stator 20 is anchored against rotation in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the impeller by an overrunning brake 24 , which is grounded to stator sleeve shaft 26 . a pair of simple planetary gear units 28 and 30 is rotatably mounted about the axis of output shaft 32 that is arranged in spaced parallel disposition with respect to the engine crankshaft axis . unit 28 includes ring gear 34 , sun gear 36 , carrier 38 and planet pinions 40 that are journalled on carrier 38 in meshing engagement with ring gear 34 and sun gear 36 . gear unit 30 comprises ring gear 42 , sun gear 44 , carrier 46 and planet pinions 48 , which are journalled on carrier 46 in meshing engagement with sun gear 44 and ring gear 42 . carrier 46 forms a torque output element for the gearing and is drivably connected to output member 48 , which is connected to final drive sun gear 50 of final drive planetary gear unit 52 . final drive gear unit 52 includes , in addition to sun gear 50 , a ring gear 54 , a carrier 56 and planet pinions 58 journalled on carrier 56 in meshing engagement with sun gear 50 and ring gear 54 . carrier 56 acts as a torque output element of the gear unit 52 and is connected to ring gear 60 and differential gear unit 62 . a compound carrier 64 forms a part of the gear unit 62 that rotatably journals a first pair of pinions 66 , which mesh with a ring gear 60 and with a second set of planetary pinions 68 , the latter meshing with sun gear 70 . sun gear 70 in turn is drivably connected to output shaft 32 . carrier 64 is drivably connected to a companion torque output shaft 72 . shaft 32 is connected to one traction wheel of the vehicle , and the opposite traction wheel of the vehicle is connected to output shaft 72 . the connections between the traction wheels and the respective output shafts is achieved by universal coupling and half shaft assemblies in known fashion . a third simple planetary gear unit 74 is located between the pair of gear units previously described and the hydrokinetic torque converter . it comprises a ring gear 76 , a sun gear 78 , a carrier 80 and planet pinions 82 journalled on the carrier 80 in meshing engagement with ring gear 76 and sun gear 78 . carrier 80 is connected to torque transfer sleeve shaft 84 , which is drivably connected to ring gear 34 of gear unit 28 and to ring gear 42 of gear unit 30 . an overrunning brake 86 that has an outer race 88 grounded to the transmission housing as shown at 90 is adapted to anchor sun gear 44 during operation in each of the first four overdriving ratios , thus providing a torque reaction point for the gear system . ring gear 54 is permanently anchored to the housing as shown at 92 , thus permitting the final drive gear unit 52 to multiply the torque delivered through the gear units 74 , 28 and 30 in each of the driving ratios . a friction brake band 94 surrounds brake drum 96 which , in turn , is connected to sun gear 44 . the brake band 94 is applied to anchor the sun gear 44 during hill braking operation and during reverse - drive operation . a disc brake shown generally at 98 is adapted to anchor the carrier 38 against the transmission housing during operation in the lowest ratio and in reverse drive . sun gear 36 is a torque input element flow transmission . during operation in reverse drive , sun gear 36 is connected to driven sprocket 100 by means of reverse clutch 102 , the latter acting as a driving connection between the driven sprocket 100 and brake drum 104 . sun gear 36 is connected directly to the brake drum 104 . driven sprocket 100 is connected to driving sprocket 18 through a torque transfer drive chain 106 . during forward drive operation , drive sprocket 100 is connected to sun gear 78 by forward drive clutch 106 . the forward drive clutch 106 is engaged during operation in the first three forward - driving ratios . a direct - drive clutch 108 connects ring gear 76 with the driven sprocket 100 during operation in the third and fourth forward driving ratios as well as during the fifth driving ratio . when direct drive clutch 108 and the forward clutch 106 are engaged simultaneously , ring gear 76 is connected to sun gear 78 so that the elements of the gear unit 74 rotate in unison with a one - to - one speed ratio . to effect a fifth forward - driving ratio , friction clutch 109 is applied , thus establishing a driving connection between sleeve shaft 84 and sun gear 44 of gear unit 30 to lock sun gear 44 to ring gear 42 so that the speed ratio developed by gear unit 30 is unity . the neutral idle feature of the invention is achieved by controlling engagement and release of forward clutch 106 . when the vehicle is at a standstill and the engine is idling , the engine 10 will tend to drive the turbine because of the hydrokinetic torque multiplication effect of the converter 10 . thus , a driving torque will be delivered to the traction wheels through the gearing , even when the engine is idling . in prior art designs , it is necessary to maintain the accelerator pedal at a sufficiently advanced position so that the engine will idle at a speed that will avoid undue engine harshness . it further is necessary for the vehicle operator to maintain his foot on the vehicle brake to avoid creeping of the vehicle with the engine idling . by disengaging the clutch 106 to establish a neutral idle condition , the torque flow path to the traction wheel is interrupted when the engine is idling with the vehicle at a standstill . fig2 shows a chart that indicates the clutches and the brakes that are applied and released to establish each of the five forward - driving ratios as well as the reverse ratio . the sun gear 36 is anchored by a second and fourth ratio brake band 110 . that brake band is applied also during fifth ratio operation so that sun gear 36 may act as a reaction point as the ring gear 34 is overdriven and as torque is delivered to the gear unit 28 through the carrier 38 and through the direct - drive clutch 108 . in fig2 the forward - drive clutch 106 is designated as clutch fwd , the direct - drive clutch 108 is designated as clutch dir , the reverse disc brake 98 is referred to as the lo / rev brake , the fifth ratio clutch 109 is identified as 5cl clutch , and brake band 110 is identified as 2 / 4 band . first ratio drive is achieved by engaging brake band 94 , which anchors sun gear 44 . also , disc brake 98 is applied , and forward clutch 106 is applied . thus , sun gear 78 is connected to the driven sprocket at 100 , and the underdriven motion imparted to the carrier 80 is transferred to the ring gear 42 of gear unit 30 . in fig2 brake band 94 is referred to as the hb and rev band . the reverse clutch 102 is identified in fig2 as the rev clutch . a schematic representation of a microprocessor control system , shown generally at 200 , is shown in fig3 . the engine is generally designated by reference numeral 228 . operating variables for the engine , such as manifold pressure and coolant temperature and engine speed , are measured by analog sensors and distributed to an electronic microprocessor 230 . the signal passage for manifold pressure is shown at 232 . the engine coolant temperature signal is distributed to the processor 230 through signal line 234 . the engine speed signal is distributed to the processor 230 through line 236 . other variables that are measured and distributed to the processor are a signal indicating the range selection or transmission manual valve position . this signal is distributed through signal passage 238 . turbine speed also is measured , and that value is distributed to the processor through signal line 240 . the torque output shaft speed for the transmission is distributed to the processor through signal line 242 . a bypass clutch pressure signal is distributed to the processor through signal line 244 , but that signal is irrelevant to the present invention . transmission oil temperature for the engine is measured , and the signal representing that value is distributed to the processor through signal line 246 . a brake signal is distributed to the processor through signal line 248 . the presence of a signal at line 248 will indicate whether the vehicle brakes are applied or released by the vehicle operator . the processor 230 will receive the information developed by the sensors and condition it so that it may be used in digital form by the central processor unit . the central processor unit identified at 250 processes the information delivered to the processor 230 in a manner that will be described subsequently using algorithms that are stored in memory 252 . the output signals from the processor 230 are delivered to a valve body 254 through signal line 256 . the output data includes shift signals delivered to the shift solenoids that control the ratio changes . the operation of the valve body 254 and the solenoid signals are described in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no 5 , 272 , 630 , herein incorporated by reference . the output signal developed by the valve body 254 delivered through signal line 258 controls the operation of the clutches and brakes of the transmission illustrated in fig1 . for purposes of describing the benefits of the present invention , a comparison to prior art neutral idle characteristics will first be made with reference to fig4 which shows the prior art neutral idle clutch characteristics for a transmission having an open loop - type converter . this type of transmission is further described in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 272 , 630 . in fig4 time is plotted on the abscissa ; and output shaft torque , clutch fluid pressure , engine speed and turbine speed are plotted on the ordinate . the forward clutch pressure , the engine speed , the turbine speed and the output shaft torque assume initially the values shown in region a of fig4 . it is seen from fig4 that the turbine speed is zero since the vehicle is at rest . the difference between engine speed and turbine speed represents the slip that exists when the vehicle comes to rest and before the neutral idle mode begins . at time b , the neutral idle mode is initiated , which results in an exhaust of pressure from the forward clutch . this results in a decay of the forward clutch pressure over a short period of time , as indicated by the curve c in fig4 . the output shaft torque decays , as shown by curve d , as the forward clutch pressure is relieved . as the forward clutch loses capacity following initiation of a neutral start mode , the turbine speed will increase , as shown at e , until it reaches the normal turbine speed for engine idle , which may be 600 rpm as shown at f in fig4 . the engine speed at that time in a typical vehicle installation may be about 800 rpm as shown at g . fig4 illustrates at point h what happens , according to the prior art , when the operator terminates the neutral idle mode by advancing the accelerator pedal . an immediate increase in the forward clutch pressure then will occur until a transition pressure indicated at point i is reached . it is during this interval that the clutch servo cylinder is filling and the clutch servo piston is stroking . because the engine throttle is advanced , the engine speed will respond to the advancing throttle and will increase as shown by the ramp j in fig4 . the engine speed continues to increase until the clutch servo is fully stroked . at that time , the engine speed will have reached a peak value shown at k . when the piston for the forward clutch servo is stroked and the forward clutch gains capacity , the output shaft torque will sharply rise , as indicated by the steep slope curved portion l , until it reaches a peak value shown at m . the achievement of the peak value m is coincident generally with the peak engine speed , the latter immediately decreasing in value at a fast rate , as shown at n . the decreasing engine speed is accompanied by a substantial inertia torque that contributes to the achievement of the peak value m for the output shaft torque . the clutch pressure will continue to increase following the stroking of the clutch servo piston and progressively increase at a rapid rate , as shown by the curve 0 , until a final clutch pressure value is reached , as shown at p . the output shaft torque will be subjected to torque fluctuations , as demonstrated by the oscillating torque values q following clutch engagement . the prior art torque curve illustrated in fig4 is perceptible as a “ slip bump ” disturbance that occurs following the advancement of the accelerator pedal when the operator demands engine torque levels that would produce a turbine torque beyond the forward clutch capacity during neutral idle operation . the subsequent uneven engine response is undesirable . the control strategy of the present invention that avoids these undesirable features of the prior art will now be explained with reference to fig5 and 7 . referring now to fig5 the routine executed by microprocessor 230 for controlling engine torque output during launch from neutral idle operation according to a preferred method of the invention will now described . the vehicle begins in the neutral idle operating condition ( step 500 ). as described above , the neutral idle operating condition results in an exhaust of pressure from the forward clutch at time b in fig4 . this results in a decay of the forward clutch pressure over a short period of time , as indicated by the curve c in fig4 . the output shaft torque decays , as shown by curve d , as the forward clutch pressure is relieved . as the forward clutch loses capacity following initiation of a neutral start mode , the turbine speed will increase , as shown at e , until it reaches the normal turbine speed for engine idle , which may be 600 rpm as shown at f in fig4 . the engine speed at that time in a typical vehicle installation may be about 800 rpm as shown at g . at some point in time , the vehicle operator advances the accelerator pedal ( step 502 ) to terminate neutral idle operation as shown at h in fig4 . then , the microprocessor 230 determines an engine brake torque limit ( step 504 ) and a requested engine torque output derived from operator demand ( step 506 ). these values are used to determine the amount of torque that will actually be supplied by the engine at that particular time . according to the present invention , the engine brake torque limit can be determined in a variety of ways . a first preferred method comprises employing a generally increasing pre - determined function to determine an appropriate engine brake torque limit at a given time subsequent to ceasing neutral idle operation . specifically , for a given elapsed time since the neutral idle operation was ceased , the function provides an appropriate engine brake torque limit . because it is known that the capacity of the transmission &# 39 ; s forward clutch increases with time , the function provides generally higher engine brake torque limits as the elapsed time increases . the function will generally provide engine brake torque limits that follow the known increasing capacity characteristics of a forward clutch , as illustrated in fig6 . a second preferred method for determining the engine brake torque limit comprises estimating the torque capacity of the forward clutch during the launch period using a mathematical model that depends on various operating parameters , including clutch pressure . then , the engine brake torque limit is calculated based on the estimated forward clutch torque capacity and a calibrated delta turbine torque offset value . the calibrated delta turbine torque value may be positive or negative to facilitate tuning of forward clutch engagement during neutral idle operation . specifically , according to the second preferred method , the engine brake torque limit is determined by the following equation : tqe_brk  _limit = forward_clutch  _torque  _capacity + tq_delta fn_conv   ( nt ne ) fn_conv is the torque multiplication of the torque converter . fn_conv is a well - known function that can be expressed as the turbine torque divided by the engine torque , and tq_delta is a calibrated positive or negative offset . tq_delta can be a negative offset to reduce the engine torque to ensure short enough engagement time of the forward clutch . tq_delta can be a positive offset to compensate for the time lag in generating engine torque . the forward clutch torque capacity used to determine the engine brake torque limit is calculated using the following equation : fn_cap is a function that transforms the forward clutch pressure ( either commanded or measured ) into a torque capacity based on clutch pressure and other variables , such as transmission fluid temperature , clutch design , and the like . the fn_cap function also includes a conversion factor from torque measured at the forward clutch to torque measured at the turbine shaft . irrespective of the particular method used to determine the engine brake torque limit , the actual torque output supplied by the engine is limited based on the lesser of the engine brake torque limit and the level of torque requested by the vehicle operator ( step 508 ). in terms of a mathematical expression , the level of torque supplied by the engine is expressed as follows : the controller may limit engine torque output in a variety of well - known ways , including adjusting engine air / fuel ratio , engine spark , etc . next , the controller determines whether the launch period from neutral idle operation is complete ( step 510 ). if so , the algorithm ends ( step 512 ). if not , then steps 502 - 508 are repeated . each time the algorithm is repeated , the engine brake torque limit increases , and , assuming the requested torque output is sufficiently high , so does the actual engine torque output . fig6 is a graph that compares a sample requested engine torque , the engine brake torque limit , and the actual engine torque output , according to the present invention . the solid line represents the requested engine torque and the line with explicit data points represents the maximum torque brake limit produced by the method of the invention . the dashed line illustrates the actual engine torque output according to the invention . as shown in fig6 the requested engine torque rises steeply due to operator demand at around 0 . 3 seconds to a maximum engine torque of about 120 ft / lbs . and slightly decreases to a relatively constant value of about 100 ft / lbs . the method of the invention limits the actual engine torque output , producing a less abrupt increase in torque output . the result is a smooth transition from neutral idle operation to full engagement of the front clutch without unnecessarily sacrificing desired power during the launch period . as describe above , by limiting actual engine output torque based on the clutch capacity of the engaging clutch during vehicle launch , it is possible to maximize available torque to the driver , while at the time preventing uneven response . preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed . a person of ordinary skill in the art would realize , however , that certain modifications would come within the teachings of this invention . for example , the teachings of this invention apply when a different clutch other than the forward clutch or identified as the forward clutch is allowed to slip during neutral idle operation . therefore , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of the invention .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

fig1 is a block diagram of a multiprocessor , multicelled system 100 . system 100 is composed of processing cells 105 - 120 and memory . the four cells communicate with , and , among each other through “ ganged ” crossbar 125 and 130 , each routing one half of a 72 bit wide data transfer between cells . cell 1 ( 105 ) can access cell 2 ( 110 ) through either crossbar 125 or crossbar 130 . similarly , cell 3 ( 115 ) can also access cell 2 ( 110 ) through either crossbar 125 or crossbar 130 . if cell 1 ( 105 ) transmits information to cell 2 ( 110 ) the information is sent from cell 1 &# 39 ; s coherency controller through the link 135 to crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 through link 145 . then from crossbar 125 through link 150 , crossbar 130 through link 140 to cell 2 &# 39 ; s coherency controller . bandwidth is improved through the use of bit - slicing which is used to divide the information between crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 . for instance , cell 1 ( 105 &# 39 ; s ) coherency controller can divide a message which consists of 72 bits into two 36 bit wide packets . the first 36 bit packet ( i . e ., upper order ), packet a , can be sent via link 135 to crossbar 125 and via link 150 from crossbar 125 to cell 2 ( 110 &# 39 ; s ) coherency controller . at the same time cell 1 ( 105 &# 39 ; s ) coherency controller sends the second ( i . e ., lower order ) 36 bits of the message in packet b across link 145 to crossbar 130 and across link 140 to the coherency controller of cell 2 ( 110 ). in this mannner , the length of time required to transmit the message is cut approximately in half in comparison to a sequential transmission through a single switch . the 36 bits which were transferred via crossbar 125 and the 36 bits transferred via crossbar 130 are merged within cell 2 ( 110 &# 39 ; s ) coherency controller to reform the original message . referring to fig2 a and 2b , each crossbar element can have up to eight connections . for instance , crossbar 202 uses four of its ports to connect to cells 204 - 210 . three of crossbar 202 &# 39 ; s remaining connections are used to connect to the other three crossbars of the four crossbar system . link 212 connects crossbar 202 to crossbar 210 , link 214 connects crossbar 202 to crossbar 216 , and link 218 connects crossbar 202 to crossbar 220 . crossbar 202 also includes a port connecting to router 222 used to communicate with a similar system of crossbars and cells . each of the crossbars 202 , 210 , 216 and 220 include two parallel , 36 bit wide crossbar switching units ( not shown ) to provide a combined 72 bit wide switching capability . such an arrangement provides a bit sliced transfer of messages . while both crossbar switching units operate synchronously with regard to a common clock signal , the units do not coordinate transfer of respective message portions or bit slices . eliminating or avoiding intramessage coordination and synchronization between crossbar switching units avoids the associated processing delay . since errors causing the crossbar switching units to desynchronize are rare , this time saving is preferable to synchronization overhead which would otherwise be required . however , in the event of loss of this “ passive ” synchronization , steps must be taken to recoordinate message handling so that complete 72 bit wide data transfers are accomplished . for example , assume , as in the present embodiment of the invention , there are five classes of flow control messages that can be sent from a cell via a crossbar to the rest of the system . a first flow control is a read request , which requests access to memory located within a different cell . a second flow control class is a memory return used to respond to a read request in which information contained in a memory location is sent to the requesting processor . a third flow control class is a processor respond in which a specific processor located within a cell responds to a request from another processor . a fourth flow control class is an input / output ( i / o ) transaction , a read or write request , from an i / o card together with any associated interrupts . a fifth flow control class consists of crossbar interconnect networks for running system backup implemented as a fast fail - over mode or a hot standby . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , priorities are established between the various flow controls to ensure equal treatment between the flow controls . for instance , a read request should not be allowed to block a data return from memory . to provide for prioritization , five buffers in the form of a circular queue are established for each type of flow control within each port of a crossbar . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , forty buffers are established , five for each flow control within each of the eight input ports of a crossbar . referring now to fig3 if processor 305 of cell 105 initiates communication with processor 310 of cell 110 communication messages are routed from processor 305 of cell 105 to the coherency controller 315 of cell 105 . the coherency controller 315 bit - slices or divides the communication up into two parallel 36 bit packets . packet a ( not shown ) is sent via link 135 to crossbar 125 and then via link 150 to coherency controller 320 of cell 110 . in parallel , packet b , containing the second set of 36 bits , is sent from coherency controller 315 of cell 105 via link 145 to crossbar 130 and then via link 140 to coherency control 320 of cell 110 . in the transmission of this communication , crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 operate in lock step or , in synchronized mode based on having a common clock signal , i . e ., are possibly synchronized . upon receipt of both packet a and packet b coherency controller 320 of cell 110 reassembles the communication in the proper format and sends the information to processor 310 of cell 110 . if an error occurs during the transmission of packet a or packet b via request crossbars 125 and crossbar 130 , synchronization between crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 would be lost . the present invention relates to a method for reestablishing , the synchronization between crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 . but , before the synchronization can be reestablished the error first has to be detected . one situation in which an error can be detected is through parity checks performed by the crossbars . when packet a is sent from coherency controller 315 of cell 105 , to crossbar 125 , the latter performs a parity check to ensure that the received data survived the transmission without modification . if a single bit error occurs in the transmission of packet a from coherency controller 315 of cell 105 to the crossbar 125 , by using duplicated data and parity bits , crossbar 125 can correct the changed bit to recover the original message . if , however , two or more bits have been corrupted in the transmission of packet a from coherency controller 315 of cell 105 to crossbar 125 , the error is unrecoverable and therefore fatal . in the presence of a fatal error , crossbar 125 will not transmit packet a to coherency controller 320 of cell 110 via link 150 . nearly simultaneously ( i . e . substantially in parallel ), coherency controller 315 of cell 105 transmits packet b over link 145 to crossbar 130 . crossbar 130 separately and independently performs a parity check on packet b upon receipt . in the absence of an error within packet b , crossbar 130 transmits packet b via link 140 to coherency controller 320 of cell 110 . however , in trying to reformat the original message , coherency controller 320 will have received packet b but will not have received packet a and will therefore determine that an error has occurred in the transmission of packet a . additionally , the presence of this error in packet a interrupts synchronization or lock step between the crossbars . this loss of synchronization between crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 is further exacerbated by the time delay associated with coherency controller 320 of cell 110 &# 39 ; s identification of the receipt of packet b without a corresponding packet a . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 can be resynchronized by reinitializing the link between crossbar 125 and cell 105 simultaneously , or nearly so , with the reinitialization of the link between crossbar 130 and cell 105 . in addition to reinitializing the link between the crossbars and cell 105 the arbitration history must also be realigned . in order to realign the arbitration history the traffic between cell 105 and the two crossbars 125 and 130 must be stopped . thereafter , the realignment of the arbitration can occur simultaneously with the reinitialization of the links between cell 105 and crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 . this can be accomplished because competition for the resources for the links 135 and 145 has been halted . when all other traffic between cell 105 and the crossbars has been halted , there is no contention in the execution of the reinitialization command and other transmissions , so that there is only one contestant requesting the resource , the reinitialization command . there are at least two ways in which the traffic can be halted between cell 105 and the crossbars . a first implementation is in software . referring again to fig3 cell 105 includes four processors , 305 , 325 , 330 ) and 335 . preferably , one of these processors will be designated a master or “ monarch ” processor . for example , if processor 305 of cell 105 is designated the monarch processor , the processor will include a software error handling routine to resolving transmission problems between cell 105 and the crossbars . once an error has been detected , processor 305 ( the monarch processor ), sends a message to both crossbar 125 and crossbar 130 to stop all traffic to and from cell 105 . additionally , upon detection of the receipt of packet a without packet b the coherency controller 320 in cell 110 also sends a message to stop communications between cell 105 and both crossbars 125 and 130 . alternatively , the error handling can be implemented in hardware and / or firmware . for example , cell 105 may include the appropriate logic circuitry such that upon detection of the error in the transmission from cell 105 to crossbar 125 and / or crossbar 130 , a control message is sent to both crossbars to halt all traffic addressed to cell 105 . in the hardware implementation , upon detection of a fatal error , the port enters an error handling mode where the port drops all packets which are not control and status register access packets . when the fatal error is resolved , software reenables the acceptance of all packets . assuming an initial communications fault between cell 105 and cell 110 the links between cell 110 and crossbars 125 and 130 must be reinitialized and the arbitration associated with the crossbar &# 39 ; s port to cell 110 must be reset . in order to reinitialize the link between cell 110 and crossbars 125 and 130 , all messages or all traffic must be stopped between these devices , i . e ., cell 110 and the two crossbars . again , both software and hardware implementations of the invention described ensure that all traffic is stopped between cell 110 and crossbars 125 and 130 . the arbitration history for crossbars 125 and 130 is reset simultaneously with the reinitialization of the link between cell 110 and the crossbars . in a preferred embodiment of the invention an arb_reset command is used to reset the port arbitration history registers . this arbitration history reset is done as part of a fatal error recovery routine in order to regain lock step between the two crossbar elements . performing the arbitration history reset at the same time as reinitializing the link between the affected cell and the crossbar elements guarantees that both arbitration schemes within the crossbars are again in lock - step , i . e ., synchronized . among the advantages of the present invention is that if processor 340 of cell 115 is in the process of transmitting information or communicating with processor 345 of cell 120 , the reinitialization of the link between crossbars 125 and 130 with cells 105 and 110 does not affect that communication . processor 340 of cell 115 can still communicate packet c ( the first 36 bits of data ) via coherency controller 350 of cell 115 via link 355 to crossbar 125 and via link 360 to coherency controller 365 of cell 120 . the corresponding packet d ( the second 36 bits of data ) can also be sent from processor 340 of cell 115 to coherency controller 350 of cell 115 via link 370 to crossbar 130 and via link 375 to coherency controller 365 of cell 120 . again coherency controller 365 of cell 120 will combine packets c and d to regenerate the original message which is then sent to processor 345 of cell 120 . the reinitialization of the link between cell 105 and crossbars 125 and 130 does not effect the transmission of data between cells 115 and 120 . similarly , the reinitialization and reset of arbitration history between cell and crossbars 125 and 130 does not affect the transmission of information from cell 115 to cell 120 . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process , machine , manufacture , composition of matter , means , methods and steps described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention , processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps , presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps .

7Electricity

a typical prior art pneumatic tire is depicted in fig1 and is indicated generally by the numeral 10 . tire 10 includes a body 12 that includes a reinforcing cord ply 14 , at least one body ply 16 , and an innerliner 18 . innerliner 18 includes an outer surface that faces the chamber 20 formed when tire 10 is mounted on a rim ( not shown ). tire 10 also includes a pair of bead rings 22 and a pair of apex fillers 24 . the first embodiment of the invention is depicted in fig2 with the pneumatic tire indicated generally by the numeral 30 . tire 30 includes many of the same body elements as tire 10 but further includes an electronic monitoring device 32 mounted to pneumatic tire 30 . electronic monitoring device 32 includes a monitoring package 34 mounted within body 12 and a power source 36 mounted to innerliner 18 . monitoring package 34 receives power from power source 36 through electrical coupling . specifically , monitoring package 34 receives power through close proximity electromagnetic coupling . electronic monitoring package 34 may include a variety of components that are known in the art to monitor at least one engineering condition of pneumatic tire 30 and transmit information out of tire 30 . electronic monitoring package 34 may include at least one sensing element that monitors or measures an engineering condition of tire 30 . monitoring package 34 may further include a device to store the information or data gathered by the sensor , a cpu , a transmitter / receiver , and an antenna . any of a variety of known combinations of these elements may be present in monitoring package 34 for gathering data and transmitting data out of tire 30 . in the preferred embodiment , monitoring package 34 is encapsulated with an encapsulation material 38 to protect monitoring package 34 . encapsulation material 38 may be any of a variety of encapsulation materials known in the art such as epoxies . power source 36 is also preferably encapsulated with an encapsulation material 38 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , power source 36 is mounted to a patch 40 that mounts power source 36 to innerliner 18 . in other embodiments , power source 36 may be mounted directly to innerliner 18 without the use of patch 40 . power source 36 is preferably in the form of a battery . the battery may be any of a variety of batteries known in the art for providing power to devices such monitoring package 34 . the battery preferably has a long life and is able to survive in the environment inside a pneumatic tire . power source 36 may also include electronics to increase the voltage that is supplied to coupling elements thereby increasing the electric field strength . in accordance with the present invention , power source 36 is in communication with monitoring package 34 through a non - direct connection . power source 36 is coupled to monitoring package 34 through first and second coupling elements 42 and 44 . coupling elements 42 and 44 may be coils , pads , plates , or any of a variety of other arrangements known in the art for providing field coupling between aligned and spaced elements . first coupling element 42 is in direct electrical communication with monitoring package 34 and second coupling element 44 is in direct electrical communication with power source 36 . coupling elements 42 and 44 are arranged to be aligned and spaced apart such that power may be transferred from power source 36 to monitoring package 34 . the power transfer occurs because first coupling element 42 is placed in the field created by second coupling element 44 . a position of first coupling element 42 within the field of second coupling element 44 induces a current in second element 42 to transfer the power from power source 36 to monitoring package 34 . in the embodiment of the invention depicted in fig2 tire 30 is manufactured by inserting monitoring package 34 into body 12 when body 12 is being assembled . monitoring package 34 is positioned such that body cords 14 are disposed between monitoring package 34 and the interior body ply 16 . monitoring package 34 is placed in this position before body 12 is cured preferably at the green tire stage . monitoring package 34 is then cured within body 12 when the green tire is cured . after body 12 is cured , power source 36 is connected to innerliner 18 such that first and second coupling elements 42 and 44 are aligned . the alignment that is required is an alignment that allows the first and second coupling elements 42 and 44 to communicate with each other and to transfer power from power source 36 to monitoring package 34 . in the embodiment depicted in fig2 coupling elements 42 and 44 are disposed directly across from each other through reinforcing cord ply 14 , body ply 16 , and innerliner 18 . mounting monitoring package 34 and power source 36 in this manner allows power source 36 to be readily replaced without changing the position of monitoring package 34 . this method also allows monitoring package 34 to be positioned in a desired location within tire 30 . the use of coupling elements 42 and 44 allow monitoring package 34 to be cured within tire 30 . an alternative embodiment of the invention is depicted in fig3 with the tire indicated generally by the numeral 50 . monitoring device 32 is positioned in a different position in tire 50 than in tire 30 . in tire 50 , monitoring package 34 is positioned between reinforcing cord ply 14 and body ply 16 . the arrangement of coupling elements 42 and 44 remains the same as described above and the method of building tire 50 is substantially the same as described above . tire embodiment 60 is depicted in fig4 with monitoring package 34 positioned between body ply 16 and innerliner 18 . tire 70 of fig5 shows monitoring package 34 embedded within innerliner 18 . tire 80 of fig6 depicts an embodiment where monitoring package 34 is mounted to the inner surface of innerliner 18 . in each of the embodiments of fig4 , and 6 , first and second coupling elements 42 and 44 are aligned and spaced apart to provide power between power source 36 and monitoring package 34 . tire 90 is depicted in fig7 with monitoring package 34 embedded within a patch 92 connected to innerliner 18 . patch 92 may be a rubber patch that is fabricated separately from body 12 of tire 90 and later connected to innerliner 18 . in another embodiment , patch 92 is an anchoring patch that is connected to innerliner 18 before body 12 of tire 90 is cured . the green tire curing process cures body 12 and anchoring patch 92 along with monitoring device 34 embedded within anchoring patch 92 . the apparatus and method of using anchoring patch 92 is disclosed and described in u . s . patent applications ser . nos . 09 / 205 , 931 and 09 / 206 , 273 , filed dec . 4 , 1998 , which are owned by the assignee of the present application . in the other embodiment where patch 92 is an attachment patch , patch 92 is fabricated and cured separate from body 12 . in this embodiment , monitoring package 34 is connected to attachment patch 92 or embedded within attachment patch 92 before patch 92 is cured . power source 36 may be attached to patch 92 before patch 92 is connected to innerliner 18 or after patch 92 is connected to innerliner 18 . accordingly , the improved method of providing electrical power to an embedded electronic device in a tire using close proximity electromagnetic coupling apparatus is simplified , provides an effective , safe , inexpensive , and efficient device which achieves all the enumerated objectives , provides for eliminating difficulties encountered with prior devices , and solves problems and obtains new results in the art . in the foregoing description , certain terms have been used for brevity , clearness , and understanding ; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art , because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed . moreover , the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example , and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described . having now described the features , discoveries , and principles of the invention , the manner in which the method of providing electrical power to an embedded electronic device in a tire using close proximity electromagnetic coupling is constructed and used , the characteristics of the construction , and the advantageous new and useful results obtained ; the new and useful structures , devices , elements , arrangements , parts , and combinations are set forth in the appended claims .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows a tire patch 10 of the present invention . the tire patch is of a preselected configuration , which as shown , is rectangular in shape . the patch may be of any other convenient configuration , but is shown as rectangular , and therefore has four edges 11 . the tire patch 10 has a first side 12 for interfacing with a face of an encapsulated tag assembly 30 , shown in fig2 . the patch has a second opposite side 14 approximating the contour of an inner liner of a tire . the contour of the second side 14 preferably is radiused to have about the same radius as the tire to which it is assembled , the radius being larger for larger tires . for very large tires , such as for off - the - road tires , the radius may be eliminated altogether , so that there is no contour and the opposite side is flat , having no contour . the rubber patch is vulcanized at a preselected temperature and for a time sufficient to vulcanize the patch . the patch may be rubber selected from the group consisting of ethylene propylene diene monomer ( epdm ) rubber , butyl rubber , natural rubber , neoprene and mixtures thereof . one preferred embodiment is a mixture of chlorobutyl rubber and natural rubber . another preferred embodiment is a mixture of styrene - butadiene rubber ( sbr ) and natural rubber . typically , patches made of these rubber compositions may be cured by heating to a temperature of about 150 ° c . and holding at this temperature for about 30 minutes . the time and temperature may be modified as necessary to achieve sufficient curing of the patch for further assembly . the first side 12 includes a recessed cavity 16 which is surrounded by a raised ridge 18 of rubbery polymer material . the recessed cavity optionally may have a roughened bottom surface to increase its surface area . the ridge 18 preferably is of the same material as the remainder of the patch . the ridge of material should be of sufficient height to capture the encapsulated rigid tag 30 . in a preferred embodiment , the ridge is about one eighth ( ⅛ ″) inch . the patch is gradually tapered from the ridge 18 of material of the first side of the patch 12 , outwardly toward the edges of the patch . affixed to the second side 14 of the vulcanized tire patch is a dual cure bonding layer 20 , which has a second side ( not shown ) and a first side 22 . this dual cure bonding layer 20 may be assembled to the patch at any time following vulcanization of the patch and prior to assembly of the patch assembly to the tire innerliner . the dual cure bonding layer 20 is permanently assembled to the patch . a non - curing cement ( not shown ) is applied to side 14 of the patch in order to hold the dual cure bonding layer 20 onto the patch . the non - curing cement and the dual cure bonding layer 20 are products of patch rubber company . the important feature of the dual cure bonding layer 20 is that it can be chemically activated and cured , without the need for heating to an elevated temperature . the process is diffusion controlled , however , and some minimal heating will speed the curing process . the dual cure bonding layer 20 may be any material which can be activated and cured to the vulcanized rubber of the tire inner liner and the vulcanized patch . preferably , however , the dual cure bonding rubber is natural rubber . the dual cure bonding rubber , after application of the activating cement , may cure at room temperature over a period of seventy two ( 72 ) hours . however , if more rapid curing is desired this may be accomplished by heating to 45 ° c . for at least twenty four hours . fig2 shows a cross - sectional view of the rigid tag assembly 30 , showing the encapsulated electronic monitoring device 32 . monitoring device may be a circuit board 34 which includes electronic memory as well as a variety of sensors for monitoring engineering conditions such as , for example , pressure , temperature and distance traveled . the monitoring device is discussed in detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 562 , 787 , incorporated herein by reference . mounted to the board is a power source 36 , such a battery , which permits the active monitoring of the engineering conditions , which may be stored in the electronic memory for later use . the power source provides a bulge 38 to the rigid tag assembly , although this feature is expected to become less prominent or even completely eliminated as advances in battery technology produce smaller yet more powerful batteries . the rigid tag assembly may also house an antenna , or may provide for assembly of an antenna which protrudes from the tag assembly so that the circuitry on the board can be activated for transmittal at will . the circuit board including sensors , battery and optional antenna , hereinafter referred to as the electronic monitoring device , are encapsulated in a potting material 40 which solidifies into a rigid material . referring to fig3 the electronic monitoring device is placed within a mold 50 having a first half 52 and a second half 54 . at least one of the mold halves has a face with increased surface area , shown as surface 56 in the second half 54 of mold 40 . the mold is then filled with the potting material 40 in fluid form , which fills the mold and flows around the electronic monitoring device and allowed to cure , resulting in a rigid tag assembly . any potting material having a young &# 39 ; s modulus of at least 30 , 000 psi and which is capable of being molded around the electronic monitoring device without damaging any of the components of the device . preferably , the potting material has a young &# 39 ; s modulus of at least about 100 , 000 psi . two preferred potting materials include epoxy and urethane . if desired , the curing of the potting material around the electronic device may be accelerated by preheating the mold to an elevated temperature which is above ambient , but below the temperature at which damage to the electronic monitoring device will occur . a preferred temperature is about 80 ° c . after the epoxy has been cured , the mold halves 52 , 54 are separated , yielding a rigid , encapsulated tag assembly 30 . tag assembly 30 has a bottom surface 42 having increased surface finish which is simply the impression of surface 56 from mold half 54 . rigid tag assembly 30 is assembled into the recessed cavity 16 on the first side 12 of tire patch 10 either after vulcanization of the patch or after assembly of the dual bond curing layer 20 to the patch . in order to permanently adhere tag assembly 30 to patch 10 , a fluid adhesive is applied to the interface between tag assembly 30 and recess 16 . this adhesive , preferably an epoxy adhesive , may be applied conveniently to surface 42 of tag assembly or to the base of recess 16 . as tag assembly 30 is pressed into recessed cavity 16 , the epoxy adhesive flows evenly along the interface between surface 42 and the base of recess 16 . the increased surface area between the base of recessed cavity 16 and surface 52 provides for additional bonding area and a stronger bond . because the ridges around the recess are closely dimensioned to correspond to the dimensions of tag assembly 30 , excess epoxy will flow between tag assembly 30 and ridge 18 , and some epoxy may even flow out from this region . of course , the flow of epoxy in this region will add to the strength of the assembly as the epoxy cures . while the epoxy can be allowed to cure at room temperature , the curing process can be accelerated by heating the assembly at an elevated temperature , for example a temperature of from about 75 - 90 ° c . for at least about 30 minutes . if the dual cure bonding layer 20 has not already been assembled to the second side 14 of tire patch 10 , it may be added at this time to form patch assembly 60 . referring now to fig5 patch assembly 60 was then assembled to the inner liner 75 of tire 70 . activating cement was first applied to second side ( not shown ) of dual cure bonding layer 20 . the patch assembly was then stitched to the inner liner of the vulcanized tire and the patch assembly / tire assembly was allowed to cure for a sufficient time and temperature to form a strong bond between the tire and the patch assembly . the times and temperatures utilized for this curing may be basically the same times and temperatures as previously discussed . to ensure a strong bond , the patch assembly optionally may be clamped to the tire inner liner 75 , until the curing cycle is completed . fig6 shows an alternative configuration of a tire patch 110 of the present invention . the tire patch 110 is of a preselected configuration , which as shown , is round in shape . the tire patch 110 has a first side 112 for interfacing with a face of an encapsulated tag assembly 130 , shown in cross - section in fig7 . first side 112 includes a recessed cavity 116 , which in this alternative configuration is formed by a cylindrical rigid insert 117 molded into the rubber patch . preferably cylindrical insert 117 is a rigid plastic material , such as nylon , epoxy or a rigid composite material such as glass - filled polyamide or glass - filled epoxy , but also may be a metal , as long as the metal does not interfere with the electronic functions and operation of tag assembly 130 . cylindrical rigid insert 117 is surrounded by a ridge 118 of rubbery material . the ridge preferably is of the same material as the remainder of the patch and should be of sufficient height to permanently hold cylindrical insert 117 in place following curing . in a preferred embodiment shown in fig6 and 7 , the ridge 118 is the same height as cylindrical insert 117 . the patch is gradually tapered from the ridge 118 of material of the first side of the patch outwardly toward the edges of the patch . recessed cavity 116 may have a roughened bottom surface to increase its surface area , as previously described , or alternatively may be smooth and made from the same material as the cylindrical insert . the patch has a second opposite side 114 which may approximate the contour of an inner liner of a tire . the contour of the second side 114 preferably is radiused to have about the same radius as the tire to which it is assembled , the radius being larger for larger tires . for very large tires , such as for off - the - road tires , the radius may be eliminated altogether , so that there is no contour and the opposite side 114 is flat , having no contour . tire patch 110 including cylindrical rigid insert 117 is cured prior to insertion of rigid tag assembly 130 to form a round patch assembly . rigid tag assembly 130 , which includes the encapsulated electronic monitoring device and has the same components as previously described , is essentially identical to rigid tag assembly 30 except for its profile , being round or circular instead of rectangular . round rigid tag assembly 130 is permanently bonded to the round patch assembly by inserting rigid tag assembly 130 into cylindrical insert 117 , as shown in fig8 after applying an epoxy adhesive such as a fusor system manufactured by lord corp . of erie pa . to the interface between the rigid tag assembly 130 and the cylindrical insert 117 . of course , the epoxy adhesive also may conveniently be applied to the interface between the bottom of cavity 116 , whether it is a roughened surface or made of the same or similar material as cylindrical insert 117 . as the rigid tag assembly 130 is inserted into cylindrical insert 117 , excess epoxy flows out from the interface , which must be removed before it cures . cylindrical insert 117 only must be of sufficient height so that after curing of the epoxy , there is sufficient bonding strength between the insert 117 and tag assembly 130 to assure no separation . although the rigid tag assembly 130 may be of the same height as cylindrical insert 117 , as shown in the preferred embodiment , it also may be lower or higher than cylindrical insert 117 upon assembly . if tag assembly 130 is higher than the cylindrical insert 117 , then insert 117 has a lower profile than the rigid tag assembly 130 so that the outer periphery of the rigid tag assembly 130 extends above the outer periphery of the cylindrical insert 117 , thereby reducing the overall amount of material required for tire patch 110 . patch assembly 160 formed by assembling rigid tag assembly 130 into tire patch 110 is bonded to a tire using the same materials and methods described above for patch assembly 60 . patch assemblies manufactured and assembled to a tire inner liner in the manner described above have run through tests equivalent to 100 , 000 miles , and have remained fully bonded to the tire . while in accordance with the patent statutes , the best mode and preferred embodiment has been set forth above , the scope of the invention is not limited thereto , but rather by the scope of the attached claims .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

the present invention will be described by way of illustrative examples with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a front view of an optical pickup device of an example according to the present invention . the optical pickup device is configured as described below . light 2 emitted from a light source , e . g ., a laser diode 1 passes through a grating 3 and a holographic optical element 4 , and is incident upon a beam splitter 5 composed of a glass plate 13 and a prism 14 . the incident light 2 is reflected by a mirror at an interface between the glass plate 13 and the prism 14 so as to have its optical path changed . then , the light 2 passes through a collimating lens 6 , is reflected by a mirror 7 ( i . e ., a mirror for changing the optical path of the light 2 so as to be in parallel with the direction perpendicular to the recording medium ), and is focused onto a recording medium such as a magneto - optical disk ( not shown ) by an objective lens 8 . the light 2 reflected from the magneto - optical disk is incident upon the beam splitter 5 after passing through the objective lens 8 , the mirror 7 , and the collimating lens 6 . at the beam splitter 5 , the light 2 is split into servo error signal detecting light 9 and magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 . the servo error signal detecting light 9 is incident upon the holographic optical element 4 from the beam splitter 5 . the servo error signal detecting light 9 is diffracted by the holographic optical element 4 and is guided into a photodiode 11 to be detected as a servo error signal . on the other hand , the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 is reflected by the mirror surface on a reverse side of the glass plate 13 included in the beam splitter 5 and is guided into a coupler portion of an optical waveguide element 12 without passing through the holographic optical element 4 . the light coupled to the coupler portion of the optical waveguide element 12 is split into polarized components each having a different polarization direction , and the polarized components are guided into a photodetector . the photodetector detects a magneto - optical signal based on the polarized components . next , the beam splitter 5 will be described in detail with reference to fig2 . the beam splitter 5 is composed of the glass plate 13 and the prism 14 adhering to each other . a b - face of the glass plate 13 is a total reflection mirror and an a - face of the glass plate 13 ( i . e ., an interface between the glass plate 13 and the prism 14 ) is a partial reflection mirror or a polarizing mirror . thus , the beam splitter 5 is configured so as to have a polarization characteristic . these mirrors are made of a dielectric multi - layer film , a metallic film , or the like . in particular , when a mirror made of a multi - layer film is formed on the a - face , a kerr rotation angle ( described later ) can be multiplied . as described above , the light 2 emitted from the laser diode 1 is reflected by the a - face to travel to the objective lens 8 and the magneto - optical disk . then , the light 2 travels in the same optical path to return to the a - face . the light 2 is partially reflected by the a - face to become the servo error signal detecting light 9 . the servo error signal detecting light 9 is guided into the photodiode 11 ( i . e ., a photodetector ) by the holographic optical element 4 which is a diffracting element . on the other hand , the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 having passed through the a - face is totally reflected by the b - face to pass through the a - face to be guided into the optical waveguide element 12 . the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 guided into the optical waveguide element 12 does not pass through the holographic optical element 4 ; therefore , in this arrangement , the light 10 is not diffracted and as a result , the amount of the light 10 is not decreased . furthermore , in the case where the diffracted light is coupled to the optical waveguide element 12 , the variations of an incident position and an incident angle caused by the wavelength fluctuation of the incident light leads to the decrease in efficiency of optical waveguide coupling . in this arrangement , such a problem is not caused , so that a magneto - optical signal can be stably obtained . in the optical pickup device of the present example as shown in fig2 light 15 emitted from the laser diode 1 is reflected by the b - face after passing through the a - face , passes through the collimating lens 6 and the objective lens 8 , and is focused onto the magneto - optical disk . then , the light 15 reflected from the magneto - optical disk is detected by the photodetectors . this causes a signal quality to be degraded . in order to avoid this problem , the collimating lens 6 should be positioned at a sufficient distance from the objective lens 8 so as not to allow the light 15 reflected by the b - face to be incident upon the objective lens 8 . however , this arrangement is not desired , because it results in the enlargement of the optical pickup device . for example , in the case where the glass plate 13 has a thickness of 1 mm , and the collimating lens 6 has a numerical aperture ( na ) of 0 . 17 and a focal length of 10 . 7 mm , the collimating lens 6 and the objective lens 8 should be positioned at a distance of 17 mm from each other . however , as shown in fig3 and 4 , if the thickness of the glass plate 13 of the beam splitter 5 is set to be sufficiently large , a region where the light emitted from the light source and passed through the a - face is irradiated and a region where the light reflected from the magneto - optical disk and passed through the a - face is irradiated can be separated on the b - face . when a light scattering film 16 or an antireflection film 17 is provided on the region where the light emitted from the light source and passed through the a - face is irradiated , stray light caused by the light reflected by the b - face can be eliminated . therefore , it is not necessary to position the collimating lens 6 at a certain distance from the objective lens 8 ; as a result , the optical pickup device can be miniaturized without degrading a signal quality . when the beam splitter 5 is provided with a polarization characteristic , a kerr rotation angle can be multiplied ; therefore , a signal quality can be improved . assuming that the reflectance of p - polarized light of the a - face is p , and that of the s - polarized light is s , the multiplication of factor b of the kerr rotation angle satisfies the relationship b =( 1 - p )/( 1 - s ). specifically , assuming that the reflectance of the p - polarized light is 0 %, and that of the s - polarized light is 70 %, the multiplication factor b of the kerr rotation angle is 3 . 33 and the utilization factor of the s - polarized light is 9 %. in this case , the light 2 emitted from the laser diode 1 should be s - polarized light . however , an ordinary laser diode emits a beam having a far - field pattern in an elliptical shape and having an electric field component in a short axis direction of the elliptical far - field pattern . therefore , a laser beam spreads to a great degree in a direction parallel to an x - axis shown in fig5 . as a result , on the b - face of the beam splitter 5 , the light emitted from the laser diode 1 cannot be separated from the light returning from the magneto - optical disk . in this case , by providing an aperture diaphragm 18 between the laser diode 1 and the beam splitter 5 so as to limit the spreading angle of the light incident upon the beam splitter 5 , as shown in fig5 the above - mentioned problem can be solved . furthermore , in the beam splitter 5 , by providing a polarizing mirror only at a portion of the a - face performing beam - splitting , instead of forming a partial reflection mirror over the a - face , the reflection of the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 from the a - face can be reduced . specifically , in the above example , the utilization factor of the s - polarized light can be increased from 9 % to 30 %. next , a magneto - optical signal detecting system will be described with reference to fig6 and 7 . the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 reflected by the b - face of the beam splitter 5 is guided into the package 19 ( see fig1 ) without passing through the holographic optical element 4 . the magneto - optical signal detecting light 10 is diverged after being converged and is guided into a prism 21 as shown in fig6 . the diverged light is collimated by a microlens 22 provided on a prism 21 and is coupled to an optical waveguide element 23 at a predetermined incident angle . the light guided into the optical waveguide element 23 from the optical coupler is split into each polarized component by a polarized beam splitter . a magneto - optical signal is detected by a photodiode 24 which has received the polarized components thus split . as the polarized beam splitter , for example , a mode splitter ( japanese laid - open patent publication no . 6 - 82644 ) utilizing the difference in refractive index of each polarized beam component can be used . when a light source , a photodetector , an optical waveguide element , and the like are accommodated in the package 19 , the resulting device can be made small and light - weight ; furthermore , productivity and environmental resistance of the device can be enhanced . as shown in fig1 , the laser diode 1 can be provided on the side of the glass plate 13 of the beam splitter 5 , and the optical waveguide element 12 can be provided on the side of the prism 14 . in other words , the laser diode 1 can be positioned so as to be farther away from the collimating lens 6 , compared with the optical waveguide element 12 . in this case , the light emitted from the laser diode 1 becomes p - polarized light which spreads to a great degree in a direction parallel to a y - axis ( shown in fig1 ). this makes it unnecessary to use an aperture diaphragm . the reflection from the a - face of the light immediately after emitted from the laser diode 1 causes a problem . however , this problem can be solved by providing the polarizing mirror 19 only on a portion of the beam splitter 5 performing beam splitting . if the polarizing mirror is designed so that the reflectance of the p - polarized light has a reflectance of 30 % and the s - polarized light has a reflectance of 100 %, a kerr rotation angle multiplication factor of 3 . 33 can be obtained . next , a production example of the optical waveguide element 23 will be described . in the present example , as the optical waveguide element 23 , two optical waveguides having different structures , at a boundary between which the thickness is changed in a tapered shape , are used . the guided light is allowed to travel diagonally across the boundary . at this time , since the refractive index of the optical waveguides are different depending upon the polarization direction , each polarized light is refracted at a different refractive angle . in the present example , by providing two or more of such boundaries , the optical waveguide length is shortened . the production example will be more specifically described with reference to fig6 and 7 . first , an si substrate 25 is subjected to thermal oxidation to form a buffer layer 26 ( thickness : about 2 μm ) made of sio 2 thereon . then , as shown in fig6 a high refractive layer 29 made of glass with a high refractive index , e . g ., ta 2 o 5 is formed on a polarized beam splitting portion ( region d ) shown in fig7 . furthermore , a glass film ( corning # 7059 ) 27 is formed over the high refractive layer 29 as a waveguide layer , and an sio 2 film is formed as a gap layer for prism coupling . exemplary numerical values of each layer , such as those of refractive index and film thickness are shown below . under the above conditions , the effective refractive index of the respective regions c and d of the waveguide layer become as shown in table 1 . this leads to the difference in refractive index of each polarized beam . as shown in fig7 when the light is incident upon a boundary between the region c and the region d at an incident angle of 45 ° and is allowed to pass through a polarized beam splitting portion ( region d ) in an isosceles right triangle once , the difference in refractive angle between the respective polarized beams becomes 3 . 5 °. in order to detect each polarized beam by each photodiode 24 , the distance between the light beams on the respective photodiodes 24 is required to be about 50 μm , and the waveguide length is required to be about 850 μm . when the light is allowed to pass through the polarized beam splitting portion twice , the difference in refractive angle becomes larger ( i . e ., 7 . 6 °), and the required waveguide length can be shortened to be about 400 μm . thus , the optical waveguide element 12 can be decreased in size . the optical waveguide element 12 can be produced by the application of ic technology ; therefore , the optical waveguide element 12 has outstanding productivity . in addition , since optical systems can be integrated on one substrate , the optical waveguide element 12 can be made small and light - weight . fig8 shows an exemplary arrangement of the optical waveguide element 12 , the laser diode 1 , and the photodiode 11 for detecting a servo error signal . the polarization direction of the light emitted from the laser diode 1 is in parallel with the y - axis . on the other hand , the magneto - optical signal detecting light has its polarization plane rotated by 1 ° to 2 ° due to the kerr effect . however , the rotation amount is small ; therefore , it is desired that the polarized components having a polarization direction of ± 45 ° with respect to the polarization direction of the light focused onto the magneto - optical disks are detected and a differential signal is detected . as shown in fig8 when the optical waveguide element 12 is positioned so as to form an angle of 45 ° with respect to the x - axis , a te - mode and a tm - mode of the optical waveguide element 12 correspond to the polarized components having a direction of ± 45 ° with respect to the polarization direction of the light emitted from the laser diode , whereby a reproduced signal with a high s / n can be obtained . fig1 shows an exemplary arrangement of the package 19 of the optical pickup device shown in fig1 . the polarization direction of the light emitted from the laser diode 1 is in parallel with the x - axis and has a far - field pattern spreading in the y - axis direction . as described above , in the optical pickup device of the present invention , the beam splitter is positioned between the collimating lens and the holographic optical element working as a diffracting element , instead of being positioned between the objective lens and the collimating lens , whereby a part of light returning from the magneto - optical disk is guided into the optical waveguide element in the package including the light source without passing through the diffracting element , and a magneto - optical signal is detected . because of the above arrangement , a small optical waveguide element having outstanding productivity can be used in place of a large expensive wollaston prism , resulting in a small and light - weight optical pickup device . in addition , since it is not required that the objective lens is positioned at a certain distance from the deflective mirror and that the half mirror plate of the composite mirror is designed so as to have large thickness , the resulting optical pickup device can be made thinner . furthermore , the beam splitter can be more readily fabricated at lower cost by using a mirror plate and a triangular prism , compared with the composite mirror using a half mirror plate in a wedge shape requiring higher processing accuracy . when the beam splitter is provided with a polarization characteristic , a signal quality can be improved by the effect of kerr rotation angle multiplication . furthermore , by designing the mirror plate so as to have large thickness and providing an antireflection film and a light scattering film on a part of the mirror , light emitted from the light source and reflected by the mirror plate surface can be prevented from being incident upon the collimating lens and is focused onto the magneto - optical disk surface to be stray light ; therefore , the distance between the collimating lens and the objective lens can be shortened without degrading a signal quality ; as a result , an optical pickup device can be made smaller and more light - weight . in this case , when the aperture diaphragm is provided in the optical path between the light source and the beam splitter , the spreading angle of the light emitted from the light source can be limited . therefore , an optical pickup device can be miniaturized without degrading a signal quality . according to the present invention , polarized beam separation for detecting a magneto - optical signal is performed by using a small optical waveguide element including a microlens , a prism , and a polarized beam splitting portion of optical waveguide type . the light is coupled to the optical waveguide element by prism coupling , so that the problem related to the fluctuation of a wavelength of a laser beam , caused when using a laser diode as a light source , can be solved . when the boundary between two optical waveguide elements with different structures is formed as a tapered coupling portion whose thickness is changed in a tapered shape , and a light beam passes through the boundary so as to travel diagonally across it , the following advantage can be obtained : each polarized beam is refracted with a different refractive angle from each other because the refractive index of the respective optical waveguide elements is varied depending upon the polarization direction , and polarized beam separation with a high extinction ratio can be performed . furthermore , by forming two or more boundaries and allowing a light beam to pass through these boundaries , the difference in refractive angle of each polarized beam can be made large , and an optical waveguide length can be shortened . still furthermore , a microlens is provided on the upper face of the prism so as to be integrated therewith , an optical waveguide element can be made smaller . various other modifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the description as set forth herein , but rather that the claims be broadly construed .

6Physics

the following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure . various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure . thus , the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein . referring to fig1 , a uwb modulating system , in particular a uwb transmitter 100 , is schematically illustrated according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . adopting a pulse position modulation ( ppm ) technique , the uwb transmitter 100 is adapted to receive a data stream , for example in the form of a modulated digital signal sb carrying a stream of bits b i , generated by a binary source included in a control block 105 , and to generate a corresponding train of modulated uwb pulse signals . each bit b i can take a high logic value “ 1 ” ( for example , associated to the value of a supply voltage vcc ), and a low logic value “ 0 ” ( for example , associated with a ground voltage gnd ). the train of modulated uwb pulse signals , conveying the information carried by the data stream , i . e . by the modulated digital signal sb , is then radio - transmitted by means of an antenna 110 . the correlation between bit values b i and uwb pulse signals is established by the modulation technique that is adopted for modulating the digital signal sb . according to the ppm technique , the position of the generic uwb pulse signal depends on the value , “ 1 ” or “ 0 ”, of the corresponding bit b i in the data stream . adopting instead a pulse amplitude modulation ( pam ) technique , it is the amplitude of the generic uwb pulse signal that depends on the value assumed by the corresponding bit b i . the uwb transmitter 100 includes a uwb pulser 115 , having a first input terminal coupled to an output terminal of a driver circuit block 120 fed by the modulated digital signal sb , a second input terminal coupled to an output terminal of a sine wave generator block 125 , and an output terminal coupled to an input terminal of an output stage circuit 130 , having an output terminal coupled to the antenna 110 . the driver circuit block 120 and the sine wave generator block 125 have input terminals coupled to the control block 105 . when the uwb transmitter 100 has to transmit information , the driver circuit block 120 receives the data stream , i . e ., the digital signal sb modulated adopting , for example , a ppm technique , and generates a corresponding signal adapted to drive the uwb pulser 115 . in particular , the driver circuit block 120 generates a corresponding square wave signal rp . moreover , the sine wave generator block 125 generates a sinusoidal signal sc of frequency fc ; preferably , the sine wave generator block 125 is adapted to generate a sine wave voltage signal having a frequency fc variable ( in a continuous or discrete way ) within a predetermined frequency range , the frequency value being for example established by the control block 105 . the uwb pulser 115 includes a pulse generator 140 , controlled by the driver circuit block 120 , and adapted to generate a signal pulse of carefully selected shape , for example a nearly - gaussian pulse ig , as will be more clear in the following description . the uwb pulser 115 further includes a signal multiplier block 150 , having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the sine waves generator block 125 for receiving the sinusoidal signal sc , and a second input terminal coupled to the pulse generator 140 for receiving the nearly - gaussian pulse ig . the multiplier block 150 further includes an output terminal for providing a uwb signal pulse pv , given by the product of the sinusoidal signal sc by the nearly - gaussian pulse ig . an output stage circuit 130 allows coupling the output of the uwb pulser 115 with the antenna 110 , without degrading the spectra of the uwb signal pulse pv . alternatively , a binary phase shift keying modulation ( bpsk ) technique may be adopted : the data stream is provided to the sine wave generator block 125 in the form of a modulated digital signal sb ′ carrying a stream of bits b ′ i , and the sine wave generator block 125 is driven by the control block 105 in such a way to modify the phase of the sinusoidal signal sc depending on the values assumed by the bit b ′ i of the modulated digital signal sb ′. the qualitative trend of a uwb signal pulse pv generated by the uwb pulser 115 as a function of time is illustrated in fig2 a . the uwb signal pulse is composed by a sinusoidal wave of frequency fc enveloped by a nearly - gaussian pulse , and lasts some nanoseconds ( being its bandwidth higher than 500 mhz ). as known in the art , the spectrum of a sinusoidal wave enveloped by a gaussian pulse is a gaussian pulse too , having a center frequency ( i . e ., the frequency corresponding to the maximum amplitude of the gaussian pulse ) that corresponds to the frequency of the sinusoidal wave ; neglecting the low - amplitude , side portions of the gaussian spectrum , the spectral width of the resulting signal can be considered as confined . similarly , the spectrum of the sinusoidal wave signal enveloped by the nearly - gaussian pulse is given by the spectrum of the nearly - gaussian pulse , shifted in frequency and centered at the frequency of the sinusoidal wave signal , as illustrated in fig2 b ; the closer the nearly - gaussian pulse resemble a gaussian pulse , the more the spectrum pf of the uwb signal pulse pv is gaussian . fig2 b shows a diagram of the power spectral density of the spectrum pf versus frequency . since the duration in time of the uwb signal pulse pv is less than one nanosecond , the spectrum pf has a corresponding width of several ghz . for being compatible with the fcc rules , the spectrum pf has to be restricted within a spectral mask sm that begins at the frequency of 3 . 1 ghz and ends at the frequency of 10 . 6 ghz . moreover , within this spectral mask , the power spectral density must have a higher limit value equal to − 41 dbm / mhz . by acting on the sine waves generator block 125 , the control block 105 is capable to vary the frequency fc , shifting the entire spectrum pf . in a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure , the shape of the nearly - gaussian pulse ig ( i . e ., the uwb signal pulse envelope ) can be varied , so as to adjust the shape of the spectrum pf . in particular , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , by properly modifying the square wave signal rp the shape of the nearly - gaussian pulse ig can be varied ; to this end , the control block 105 acts ( control line 170 ) on the driver circuit block 120 so as to modify the square wave signal rp . the applicant has found that for generating a pulse of a predetermined shape , an advantageous solution consists of properly stimulating the input of a circuit having a non - linear transfer characteristic , which shape closely approximates , as far as possible , the shape of the desired pulse . for this reason , in order to generate a nearly gaussian pulse it is expedient to exploit a circuit whose transfer characteristic has a shape that approximates a gaussian . for better understanding the previous statements , reference will be now made to fig4 a - 4d , wherein the behavior of a circuit having a transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ) ( x represents a generic input of the circuit , and y a generic output thereof ) with a nearly gaussian shape is analyzed . as can be seen in fig4 a , the nearly gaussian shape of the transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ) is obtained by the overlap of two non - linear transfer characteristics , each one having the shape of a hyperbolic tangent : y = ng ( x )= a ( tan h ( x + w )− tan h ( x − w )), ( 1 ) where a is an amplitude parameter and w is a width parameter . the amplitude parameter a establishes the amplitude of the transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ). the width parameter w establishes the shape and the width of the transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ), as illustrated in fig4 b , wherein a family of transfer characteristics y = ng ( x ) is depicted , depending on different values of the width parameter w : the higher the value of the width parameter w , the wider the shape of the transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ). turning now to fig4 c , the effects of an input x variation on the output y are illustrated according to a first example , where it is assumed that the input x varies depending on time t ( i . e ., x = x ( t )) within an interval of values δx . according to this first example , the input x ( t ) is a periodic generically rectangular signal of frequency 1 / t between a lower value xl and a higher value xh , wherein the difference between the higher value xh and the lower value xl is equal to the interval δx . moreover , the input x ( t ) has a rise time tr ( i . e ., the time it takes for x ( t ) to rise from xl to xh ) equal to the fall time tf ( i . e ., the time it takes for x ( t ) to fall from xh to xl ). the output y varies over time , i . e . y = y ( t ), and is in particular a periodic signal having a period t / 2 ( i . e ., half the period of the input x ( t )). the output y ( t ) consists of a train of nearly gaussian pulses each having the same shape as the transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ), but , in general , a different duration . more particularly , the output y ( t ) comprises nearly gaussian pulses in correspondence of the rising and falling edges of the input x ( t ); said nearly gaussian pulses thus have , a time duration equal to the rise / fall times tr / tf . by varying , particularly increasing the rise / fall times tr / tf , as is illustrated in fig4 d , the time durations of the nearly gaussian pulses of the output y ( t ) are accordingly varied , particularly increased . referring to fig3 a , a detailed circuit diagram of the uwb pulser 115 is illustrated . as previously described , the uwb pulser 115 consists of a pulse generator 140 and a multiplier block 150 . the pulse generator 140 comprises a first and a second npn differential pairs , one having the output terminals cross - coupled to the output terminals of each other . more particularly , the first differential pair comprises two npn bipolar transistors q 1 , q 2 , and the second differential pair comprises two npn bipolar transistors q 3 , q 4 . the transistors q 1 and q 2 have the emitter terminals coupled to each other , and further coupled to a first biasing current generator , supplying a continuous current iee 1 . the transistors q 3 and q 4 have the emitter terminals coupled to each other , and further coupled to a second biasing current generator supplying a continuous current iee 2 . the base terminals of the transistors q 1 and q 3 are coupled to the output terminal of the driver circuit block 120 , schematized in the drawing as a voltage signal generator generating an input voltage signal vin series — coupled to a bias voltage generator generating a continuous ( dc ) voltage vb ; the collector terminal of the transistor q 1 is coupled to the collector terminal of the transistor q 4 , forming a circuital node n 1 . the transistor q 2 has the base terminal coupled to a bias voltage generator supplying a second dc voltage vb 1 , and the collector terminal coupled to the collector terminal of the transistor q 3 , forming a circuital node n 2 . the base terminal of the transistor q 4 is coupled to a bias voltage generator generating a third dc voltage vb 2 . the multiplier block 150 comprises a third and a fourth npn differential pairs coupled to each other . the third differential pair comprises two npn bipolar transistors q 5 , q 6 , and the fourth differential pair comprises two npn bipolar transistors q 7 , q 8 . the transistors q 5 and q 6 have the emitter terminals coupled to each other and further coupled to the circuital node n 1 ; the transistors q 7 and q 8 have the emitter terminals coupled to each other and further coupled to the circuital node n 2 . moreover , the base terminal of the transistor q 5 is coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 8 , and the base terminal of the transistor q 6 is coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 7 . both the third and the fourth differential pairs are driven by the sinusoidal voltage signal sc , provided by the sine wave generator block 125 in a differential way . more particularly , the sinusoidal voltage signal sc is applied between the base terminal of the transistor q 5 ( positive input terminal ) and the base terminal of the transistor q 6 ( negative input terminal ). consequently , the sinusoidal voltage signal sc is also applied between the base terminal of the transistor q 8 ( positive input terminal ) and the base terminal of the transistor q 7 ( negative input terminal ). the transistors q 5 and q 7 have the collector terminals coupled to each other , defining a first output node no 1 of the uwb pulser 115 . in a similar way , the transistors q 6 and q 8 have the collector terminals one coupled to each other , defining a second uwb pulser output node no 2 . a current - to - voltage converter 155 is further provided , attached to the output nodes no 1 and no 2 , including a first and a second resistors r 1 and r 2 , both having a resistance value rc . the first resistor r 1 is coupled between the first output node no 1 and a terminal providing the supply voltage vcc , the second resistor r 2 is coupled between the second output node no 2 and a terminal providing the supply voltage vcc . a differential pair of npn bipolar transistors exhibits a non - linear transfer characteristic ( expressing the differential output current id as a function of the differential input voltage vd ), having the shape of a hyperbolic tangent : wherein ibias is the current biasing the differential pair , α is a proportionality parameter including the saturation current of the transistors , and vt is the thermal voltage . it is pointed out that for small input voltages vd ( in particular , sufficiently smaller than 2vt ), the transfer characteristic ( 2 ) is almost linear , while for large values of vd the non - linearities of the npn bipolar transistors reduce the gain of the differential pair and cause the transfer characteristic to bend , thereby obtaining the hyperbolic tangent shape . the behavior of the pulse generator 140 of fig3 a is adapted to generate nearly - gaussian ( current ) pulses ig . in fact , taking account of equation ( 2 ) above , defining with ig 1 the current flowing from the emitter terminals of the transistors q 5 and q 6 to the node n 1 , and defining with ig 2 the current flowing from the emitter terminals of the transistors q 7 and q 8 to the node n 2 , the differential output current ig = ig 1 − ig 2 of the pulse generator 140 is equal to : wherein ic 1 , ic 2 , ic 3 , ic 4 are the collector currents of the transistors q 1 , q 2 , q 3 , q 4 , respectively . vid 1 , 2 is the differential input voltage of the first differential pair , and vid 3 , 4 is the differential input voltage of the second differential pair . since : wherein the input signal vin ( representing the square wave signal rp generated by the driver circuit block 120 ) is a square wave signal of period t having rise times tr and fall times tf , the equation ( 3 ) becomes : which resembles equation ( 1 ). the value of the width parameter w of equation ( 1 ) depends on how much the biasing of the transistors q 1 , q 2 , q 3 , q 4 unbalances the corresponding two differential pairs . the value of the width parameter w is established in equation ( 5 ) by properly setting the voltages vb , vb 1 and vb 2 according to the following relationships : since equation ( 5 ) resembles equation ( 1 ), the pulse generator 140 has a transfer characteristic having a nearly gaussian shape . thus , the pulse generator 140 is adapted to generate a nearly gaussian pulse . the multiplier block 150 , having a “ gilbert cell ” circuital architecture , is characterized by the following transfer characteristic : io 1 and io 2 are the output currents of the multiplier block 150 , given by ic 5 + ic 7 and ic 6 + ic 8 , respectively ; ic 5 , ic 6 , ic 7 and ic 8 are the collector currents of the transistors q 5 , q 6 , q 7 and q 8 , respectively ; the differential output current of the multiplier block 150 , i . e ., io 1 − io 2 , corresponds to the uwb ( current ) signal pulse . defining with vo 1 and vo 2 the voltages at the first and second output nodes no 1 , no 2 , respectively , and thanks to the presence of the first and second resistors r 1 , r 2 , the differential output voltage of the uwb pulser 115 , taken between the first output node no 1 ( positive terminal ) and the second output node no 2 ( negative terminal ) results equal to ( supposing that r 1 = r 2 = rc ): vo 1 − vo 2 = vcc − rc · io 1 −( vcc − rc · i 02 )= rc ·( io 2 − io 1 ), ( 8 ) by imposing iee 1 = iee 2 = iee , equation ( 10 ) can be rewritten in the following way : as can be seen observing equation ( 11 ), the differential output voltage of the uwb pulser 115 depends both on the input voltage signal vin ( representing the square wave signal rp generated by the driver circuit block 120 ) and on the sinusoidal voltage signal sc . moreover , when the sinusoidal voltage signal sc has a low amplitude , where by “ low amplitude ” there is intended sufficiently lower than the thermal voltage vt , the previous equation can be simplified . in fact , assuming that : where vm is the amplitude of the voltage signal sc , and assuming that : pv = vo ⁢ ⁢ 1 - vo ⁢ ⁢ 2 ≅ α 2 · rc · iee · vm 2 ⁢ vt · [ tanh ⁡ ( vin + vb - vb ⁢ ⁢ 2 2 ⁢ vt ) - tanh ⁡ ( vin + vb - vb ⁢ ⁢ 1 2 ⁢ vt ) ] · sin ⁡ ( 2 ⁢ π · fc · t ) , ( 14 ) where the differential output voltage vo 1 - vo 2 of the uwb pulser 115 corresponds to the uwb voltage signal pulse pv . in fact , as can be seen by equation ( 14 ), the uwb voltage signal pulse pv generated by the uwb pulser 115 is a sinusoidal wave enveloped by a nearly - gaussian pulse . as previously mentioned , for being adapted to be exploited in a transmission system , the uwb voltage signal pulse pv has to be compatible with the strict limitations imposed by the regulatory authorities like the fcc . in this case , the extension of its spectrum pf has to be restricted within the spectral mask sm . by neglecting possible aliasing effects , an approximated expression of the envelope of the fourier transform of the module of the uwb voltage signal pulse pv is : wherein vmax is the highest voltage that the square wave signal rp assumes . from the previous equation , an inverse proportionality relation exists between the − 10 db ( in respect with the frequency fc ) band bw of the uwb voltage signal pulse pv and the rise times tr of the input voltage signal vin ( i . e ., the rise time tr of the rectangular voltage pulses of the square wave signal rp ): by making explicit the depending of vmax on tr and w , the following relationship is obtained : bw = 2 ⁢ v ⁢ max π · vt · tr · ln ⁢ 10 2 ⁢ ( w + 1 2 ) . ln ( b - a 2 + ( b - a 2 ) 2 - 1 ) , ( 17 ) a = ⅇ 2 ⁢ w - ⅇ - 2 ⁢ w p · tanh ⁡ ( w ) ; b = ⅇ 2 ⁢ w + ⅇ - 2 ⁢ w , ( 18 ) with p that is a ratio term determining the value of vmax that allows generating a gaussian pulse having a precision p on the side portions thereof . in this way , by varying the rise times tr of the rectangular voltage pulses of the square wave signal rp generated by the driver circuit block 120 , it is possible to vary the bandwidth bw of the uwb voltage signal pulse pv in a reliable way . referring now to fig3 b , an unbalancing circuit for providing the dc vb , vb 1 and vb 2 to the pulse generator 140 in such a way to unbalance the differential pairs q 1 , q 2 and q 3 , q 4 according to equation ( 6 ) is depicted . more particularly , the input voltage signal vin ( representing the square wave signal rp ) is provided to the base terminals of the transistors q 1 and q 3 by means of a first coupling capacitor cc 1 , having a first terminal receiving the input voltage signal vin and a second terminal coupled both to the base terminal of the transistor q 1 and to the base terminal of the transistor q 3 . a terminal providing the dc voltage vb is coupled to the second terminal of the first coupling capacitor cc 1 by means of a biasing resistor rb . in the same way , a terminal providing the dc voltage vb 1 is coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 2 by means of a further first biasing resistor rb 1 , and a terminal providing the dc voltage vb 2 is coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 4 by means of a further second biasing resistor rb 2 . moreover , a second and a third coupling capacitors cc 2 , cc 3 are included . the second coupling capacitor cc 2 has a first terminal coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 2 and a second terminal coupled to a terminal providing the ground voltage gnd ; the third coupling capacitor has a first terminal coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 4 and a second terminal coupled to a terminal providing the ground voltage gnd . in case the input voltage signal vin is provided to the to the pulse generator 140 in a differential way , as depicted in fig3 c , and according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the unbalancing circuit is the same as the one depicted in fig3 b , but with the second terminals of the second and third coupling capacitors that are coupled to each other , and with the input voltage signal vin that is applied between the first terminal of the first coupling capacitor cc 1 ( positive input terminal ) and the second terminals of the second and third coupling capacitors cc 2 , cc 3 ( negative input terminal ). a further embodiment of the unbalancing circuit is depicted in fig3 d , in which , as in the previous case , the input voltage signal vin is provided in a differential way . the input voltage vin is applied between the base terminal of a npn bipolar transistor q 9 ( positive input terminal ) and the base terminal of a further npn bipolar transistor q 10 ( negative output terminal ). the transistor q 9 has the collector terminal coupled to a terminal providing the supply voltage vcc and the emitter terminal coupled to the first terminal of a biasing resistor rb 3 . the biasing resistor rb 3 has a second terminal coupled to the base terminals of the transistors q 1 and q 3 , forming a circuital node nb 1 . a further biasing resistor rb 4 has a first terminal coupled to the node nb 1 , and a second terminal coupled to a biasing current generator providing a continuous current iee 3 . the transistor q 10 has the collector terminal coupled to a terminal providing the supply voltage vcc and the emitter terminal coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 4 , forming a circuital node nb 2 . a biasing resistor rb 5 has a first terminal coupled to the node nb 2 , and a second terminal coupled to a first terminal of a further biasing transistor rb 6 . the biasing resistor rb 6 has the second terminal coupled to the base terminal of the transistor q 2 and to a biasing current generator providing a continuous current iee 4 . the input signal vin is provided to the inputs of the two differential pairs q 1 , q 2 and q 3 , q 4 by means of the transistors q 9 and q 10 , acting as emitter followers . the unbalancing of the differential pairs is accomplished by the voltage drops generated by the passage of the continuous currents iee 3 , iee 4 through the biasing resistors . although the uwb pulser 115 previously described has been implemented using npn bipolar transistors , alternative solutions are possible . for example , similar results can be achieved if each transistor q 1 - q 8 in fig3 a is replaced by a corresponding voltage - controlled current generator g 1 - g 8 , as depicted in fig3 e . from a practical viewpoint , the voltage - controlled current generators may be implemented by mosfets , as depicted in fig3 f . as can be seen , the circuital architecture is the same as that illustrated in fig3 a , with the npn bipolar transistors q 1 - q 8 replaced by n - channel mosfets m 1 - m 8 . mixed solutions are also possible : for example , in fig3 g the uwb pulser 115 comprises a pulse generator 140 realized with npn bipolar transistors and a multiplier block 150 realized with mosfet transistors ; in fig3 h the uwb pulser 115 comprises a pulse generator 140 realized with mosfet transistors and a multiplier block 150 realized with npn bipolar transistors . as previously mentioned , the uwb pulser 115 converts each transition of the square wave signal provided to its input into a corresponding uwb voltage pulse pv . moreover , the time duration of the uwb voltage pulse pv is uniquely determined by the duration of the rise / fall times tr / tf of the square wave signal . since the − 10 db bandwidth bw of the uwb voltage pulse pv is inversely proportional to the time duration of the uwb voltage pulse pv , i . e ., to tr or tf , the performance in terms of speed and temporal coherence of the driver circuit block 120 needs to be carefully controlled ; in particular , it is to be observed that the circuit performances are affected by the fabrication process tolerances . in fig5 , the driver circuit block 120 is depicted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , in which the duration of the rise / fall times tr / tf is constant . the driver circuit block 120 includes a shift - register 510 , a summing network 520 and a low - pass filter 530 . the shift register 510 is capable to store a number n of bits b i . it receives from the control block 105 a clock signal clk having a repetition period tc , necessary for timing all the operation performed by the driver circuit block 120 , and the modulated digital signal sb . the shift register 510 provides n output bits q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn carried by corresponding output terminals ( for convenience , the bits and the corresponding terminals providing them are denoted with the same references ) coupled in sequence to n input terminals s 1 , s 2 , . . . , sn of the summing network 520 . data bits b i are fed by the modulated digital signal sb with a frequency 1 / t . the shift register 510 is capable to store an ordinate sequence of n bits , and includes n bistable elements ( for example , d - latches implemented with e 2 cl technology ) timed by the same clock signal clk , one bistable element per bit . moreover , each bistable element of the shift register 510 is coupled to a corresponding one of the output terminals q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn . the bistable elements are coupled in such a way that the output of a generic bistable element ( except the last ) is coupled to the input of the subsequent bistable element . the bits stored in the shift register 510 moves from the first bistable element ( having the output coupled to the output terminal q 1 ) to the last bistable element ( having the output coupled to the output terminal qn ), passing from a generic bistable element to a subsequent one at each half period tc / 2 of the clock signal clk . since , according to this example , the shift register 510 is implemented with e 2 cl technology , the d - latches included therein have a differential circuit structure , and the logic values “ 1 ”, “ 0 ” are associated with a high logic voltage vh ( e . g ., equal to 275 mv ) and a low logic voltage vi ( e . g ., equal to − 275 mv ), respectively . consequently , also the modulated digital signal has to be properly adapted , by means of a voltage shifter circuit not shown in the figure , before being provided to the input of the shift register 510 . in the starting condition , it is supposed that the modulated digital signal sb and the output bits q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn are at the low logic voltage v 1 . when the modulated digital signal sb assumes the high logic voltage vh during a half period tc / 2 , at the subsequent half period the output bit q 1 assumes the high logic voltage vh ( i . e ., it assumes the “ 1 ” logic value ). if the modulated digital signal sb is maintained at the high logic voltage vh for at least n / 2 periods tc , the input variation is transferred to all the n output terminals ; consequently , at the end of n / 2 periods tc , all the output bits q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn are at the high logic voltage vh ( i . e . they are all at the “ 1 ” logic value ). the summing network 520 includes an output terminal providing a sum signal ss to the low - pass filter 530 . the sum signal ss is an analog voltage signal which value is proportional to the number of output bits q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn that are at the high logic voltage vh : wherein k is a constant parameter . for example , for implementing the function expressed in equation ( 19 ) a number n of npn differential pairs coupled to a same pair of resistors can be used . the sum signal ss takes the highest value when all the output bits q 1 , q 2 , . . . , qn are at the “ 1 ” logic value , and is equal to : fig6 illustrates the time trends of all the signals involved in the generation of a single rectangular voltage pulse of the square wave signal rp , in the exemplary case of a 4 - bit shift register 510 . in this case , the sum signal ss is a rectangular voltage pulse having staircase - like rising / falling edges with rise / fall times tr / tf equal to two times the period tc . the low pass - filter 530 ( that will not be described in detail , because not relevant to the scope of the present disclosure ) includes an output terminal , for providing the square wave signal rp to the uwb pulser 115 . in fact , by providing the sum signal ss to the low - pass filter 530 , the rising / falling edges of the rectangular voltage pulse are smoothed , and their trends become nearly linear , as required for properly driving the uwb pulser 115 . according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure , the driver circuit block 120 is adapted to be controlled by the control block 105 in such a way to vary the duration of the rise / fall times tr / tf and , consequently , to adjust the width of the uwb voltage pulses pv . since the sum signal ss is a rectangular voltage pulse having staircase - like rising / falling edges with rise / fall times tr / tf that depend on the period tc of the clock signal clk , a method for varying the rise / fall times tr / tf consists of directly adjusting the period tc . moreover , the rising / falling edges of the signal rc may be non linear . in fact , referring back to fig4 c and 4d , and considering again the generic input x and the generic output y related by the nearly - gaussian transfer characteristic y = ng ( x ), a non - linear variation of the input x allows to change the shape of the output y ( t ). since the shape variation of a pulse in the time domain implies a corresponding shape variation of its spectrum in the frequency domain , the possibility of having non linear rising / falling edges can be very useful for adjusting the spectrum pf of the uwb voltage pulses pv in a carefully controlled way . for example , a driver circuit block 120 adapted to generate rectangular voltage pulses with non linear rising / falling edges can be implemented by means of a multivibrator circuit , or by properly modifying the contributions of the bits provided by the shift register . according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure , the sine wave generator block 125 ( fig1 ) may generate a signal sc that is the sum of a plurality of ( at least two , more generally ) p of sinusoidal waves sc 1 , sc 2 , . . . scp , of different frequencies fc 1 , fc 2 , . . . , fcp . in this way , the spectrum of the signal sc has a corresponding plurality p of harmonics . if the frequencies fc 1 , fc 2 , . . . , fcp are sufficiently spaced from each other , the spectrum of the uwb signal pulse pv consists of p replicas of the spectrum pf of the nearly - gaussian pulse ig , each replica having a center frequency equal to a corresponding one among the frequencies fc 1 , fc 2 , . . . , fcp . conversely , when the frequencies fc 1 , fc 2 , . . . , fcp are sufficiently close , said p replicas of the spectrum pf are mutually influenced : the resulting spectrum has a wider width with respect to spectrum pf of the nearly - gaussian pulse ig . naturally , in order to satisfy local and specific requirements , a person skilled in the art may apply to the solution described above many modifications and alterations . particularly , although the present disclosure has been described with a certain degree of particularity with reference to preferred embodiment ( s ) thereof , it should be understood that various omissions , substitutions and changes in the form and details as well as other embodiments are possible ; moreover , it is expressly intended that specific elements and / or method steps described in connection with any disclosed embodiment of the disclosure may be incorporated in any other embodiment as a general matter of design choice . the uwb transmitter 100 of fig1 may be utilized in a variety of different types of electronic communications systems such as wireless communications systems contained in a variety of different types of electronic devices such as consumer electronic devices like telephones and portable digital assistants ( pdas ).

7Electricity

to solve the previously - described problems , the present invention generally provides a belt module comprising , see fig2 triple - section guide rails consisting of pairs of rails 5 and 6 rigidly supported at points 3 and 4 within the main body 1 of a reproducing apparatus ; two pairs of rails 7 and 8 provided outwardly of the periphery of belt module 2 and slidably fitted in or engaged with the aforesaid pairs of rails 5 and 6 so as to mount module 2 slidably with respect to the aforesaid rails 5 and 6 ; and reinforcing rails ( not visible in fig2 ) inserted between the first - mentioned pairs of rails 5 and 6 and the second - mentioned pairs of rails 7 and 8 . the aforesaid reinforcing rails are adapted to be slid to a given position on the pairs of rails 5 and 6 , following the movement of module 2 when this last is withdrawn from main body 1 of the reproducing apparatus , such that the reinforcing rails may support the load of a heavy module 2 with the load uniformly applied to the triple - section rail guides . thus , there is no risk that an excessive load would be exerted on a single pair of rails alone . module 2 is so constructed ( see fig3 ) that when in the position withdrawn out of main body 1 of the reproducing apparatus , the module can be rotated about hinges 25 , 25 &# 39 ; towards an operator ( clockwise direction in fig3 ) to provide an opening between the unit itself and the support rails , whereby the belt may be replaced with ease by releasing the roller which holds it in tension . in the event that the surface of the belt is stained due to adherence of toner or dust , or a sheet of copy paper is stuck in the reproducing apparatus , then cleaning of the belt surface or removal of the jammed copy paper from the apparatus is possible with module 2 maintained in the position withdrawn out of main body 1 of the reproducing apparatus . according to the present invention , since module 2 is slidably supported on a pair of rails 5 and 6 , each rigidly supported at two points , all rails are free from deflection even after frequent and repeated operations withdrawing and reinserting module 2 from and into main body 1 of the reproducing apparatus . in addition , the aforesaid rails supported at two points do not interfere with replacement of a belt on module 2 , such replacement being readily accomplished . a detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be given below in conjunction with fig3 through 5 . rail support members 9 provided within the main body 1 of a reproducing apparatus rigidly support two pairs of rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; mounted on main body 1 at points 3 and 4 . the two pairs of rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; are positioned ( see fig4 ) in facing relation to another two pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; which are fixedly mounted on the outer wall of module 2 , with reinforcing rails 12 and a plurality of bearings 13 being interposed between the respective rail pairs , the reinforcing rails 12 being slidable together with module 2 . thus , triple - section rail guides in combination serve as a support for the unit . this is done for the sake of distributing the load of the heavy module 2 uniformly among those rails . in detail , when module 2 is withdrawn from main body 1 of the reproducing apparatus with the reinforcing rails 12 inserted between the pairs of rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; provided on the main body 1 and the pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; of module 2 , the extremely heavy module 2 may be maintained out of main body 1 for a long period of time , during which period cleaning of the belt surface or removal of a copy paper stuck in the main body is effected , without risk of an excessive load being inadvertently exerted on rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; and on the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;, since the reinforcing rails 12 inserted in respective pairs of these rails serve to distribute the load of the heavy module 2 so that it is shared by all the rails . when module 2 is withdrawn from main body 1 , the reinforcing rails 12 in turn are slid along the respective rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; fixed on the main body and stop at a given position on those rails , whereby the load of module 2 is shared among the pairs of rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ;, and the pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;, as stated above . when module 2 is pushed back into main body 1 , the reinforcing rails 12 are also slidingly returned on the respective rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ;. modular unit 2 is composed of a pair of opposing frames 16 and a plurality of rollers 17 , 18 , 19 and 20 , one of which is a driving roller . the aforesaid pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; are fixed to rail - attaching members 21 and 21 &# 39 ; projecting from the frames 16 , thereby supporting the module 2 at rest , as well as permitting it to travel back and forth on the rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; by way of the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;. a belt 22 is trained in tension about the aforesaid plurality of rollers 17 , 18 , 19 and 20 . an adjusting member 23 , such as a jack screw , is threaded radially into the shaft of roller 20 near the end of the shaft . the adjusting member 23 is anchored with respect to the directions of the double - headed arrow in fig4 by means of a screw - support member 24 attached to frame 16 , for purposes of providing the tension in belt 22 . if adjusting member 23 is turned to move shaft 20 toward the screw - support member 24 ( i . e ., the leftward direction of the arrow in fig4 ), then belt 22 will be demountable from module 2 . although in this embodiment a screw is provided for purposes of replacing a used belt by a new one or for tensioning the belt , the adjusting means are not limited to a screw since spring tension may be utilized for tightening or for permitting replacement of belt 22 . modular unit 2 , as set forth , is adapted to be pivotally moved in a manner to provide an opening between the unit itself and the pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;, after withdrawal from main body 1 . in this embodiment , module 2 is coupled to main body 1 by hinges 25 and 25 &# 39 ; between the rail mounts 21 , 21 &# 39 ; and the unit frame 16 . for retaining or locking module 2 in the position providing an opening between it and the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; for a long period of time during which replacement of belt 22 trained about the plurality of rollers can be effected , there is provided between rail mounts 21 , 21 &# 39 ; and unit frame 16 , a mechanism for locking module 2 in open position . as shown in fig3 through 5 , an arm 28 is pivotally mounted between brackets 26 and 26 &# 39 ;, which have an l - shape in cross section and are rigidly fastened to unit frame 16 . arm 28 has a pin - engaging cut - away portion 27 near its free end and is normally urged towards frame 16 , i . e ., in the clockwise direction in fig3 . a pin 30 is mounted on a pin support member 31 which is turn is affixed to one end of rail mount 21 , so as to fit in the pin - engaging cut - away portion 27 of the above - mentioned arm . pin 30 and arm 28 are located in spaced relation to each other in a manner to provide a given opening for module 2 with respect to the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; when the pin and arm are engaged . fig5 illustrates the pivotal movement of modular unit 2 with respect to main body 1 . if module 2 is moved from rest in a direction to create an opening between same and the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;, as shown in fig5 the free end of arm 28 will come to bear on pin 30 against the action of a spring 29 . when cut - away portion 27 of arm 28 comes into engagement with pin 30 , module 2 will be locked in a position to provide an opening between same and rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;. a shaft 32 passing through module 2 in the transverse direction thereof ( see fig5 ) is held by the frames 16 and has one end which engages the lower face of arm 28 in a manner to normally urge the arm upwardly . shaft 32 is urged in the leftward direction in fig5 under the action of a coil spring 33 . if shaft 32 is manually urged in the direction of the arrows shown adjacent the open -- i . e ., dotted line -- position in fig5 arm 28 is raised up , thereby releasing module 2 from locked position . the modular unit 2 thus constructed and having the belt 22 trained in tension therearound is actuatable by the driving roller when the unit is returned into main body 1 , so as to permit effecting reproduction of an original image . when there arises the necessity of cleaning belt 22 , removing a copy paper stuck in main body 1 or replacing a belt 22 , actuation of module 2 is stopped and it is then withdrawn from main body 1 towards an operator ( in the leftward direction in fig3 ), whereby a copy paper stuck in main body 1 can be removed or cleaning the surface of belt 22 accomplished by rotating the belt by means of a manual drive wheel ( not shown ), module 2 meanwhile being maintained in the withdrawn position . for replacing a used belt 22 by a new one , modular unit 2 is withdrawn from main body 1 and urged in the clockwise direction ( fig3 ) about the hinges 25 and 25 &# 39 ;, to thereby provide a wide opening between the unit and rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;. after arm 28 mounted on unit 2 has been locked by pin 30 , the screw 23 passing through the end of roller shaft 20 ( as shown in fig4 ) is manipulated to move the shaft in the leftward direction of the arrow in fig4 thereby relieving tension on belt 22 , whereby the used belt 22 can be taken away from the unit and replaced by a new one . at completion of belt replacement , screw 23 is manipulated in the counter - direction to exert tension on the fresh belt 22 . for reinserting module 2 in main body 1 , shaft 32 shown in fig5 is manually urged rightward against the force of spring 33 so as to release arm 28 from engagement with pin 30 . then , module 2 , while resting on rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ;, is manually urged toward main body 1 , thereby being returned to its home position . according to the present invention , there are provided triple - section rail guides in combination , which consist of pairs of rails 10 , 10 &# 39 ; and 11 , 11 &# 39 ; fixed on support members 9 at points 3 and 4 provided within main body 1 , reinforcing rails 12 and pairs of rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; mounted on the outer wall of module 2 . the latter pairs of rails are in facing relation to the former pairs of rails by way of the reinforcing rails 12 . in particular , when module 2 is withdrawn from main body 1 and allowed to stand on the extended rails for a long period of time , the load of the extremely heavy modular unit 2 is distributed by the reinforcing members so as to be uniformly applied to respective rails of the triple - section rail guides , without concentration of such a heavy load on one pair of rails only . thus , the respective rails are maintained free from the deflection experienced with the conventional rails supported at one side , without provision of a particularly strong reinforcing member for supporting such rails . furthermore , since module 2 is pivotally movable on the rails 14 , 14 &# 39 ; and 15 , 15 &# 39 ; to afford selective opening between same and main body 1 , these pairs of rails on unit 2 do not interfere with replacement of a belt 22 .

6Physics

a disk array system including dual active controllers constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in block diagram form in fig3 . in addition to the structure shown in the disk array system of fig1 the system of fig3 includes a dedicated communication link 57 connected between the array controllers 11 and 13 , and an inter - controller communication chip application specific integrated circuit incorporated into each of the controllers , identified by reference numerals 61 and 63 , respectively . the communication link 57 and inter - controller communication chips provide communication between , and resource arbitration and allocation for the dual disk array controllers . fig4 is a block diagram of the inter - controller communication chip incorporated into each of the dual active array controllers 11 and 13 included within the disk array system shown in fig3 . the inter - controller communication chip ( hereafter referred to as the icon chip ) contains all functions necessary to provide high speed serial communication and resource arbitration / allocation between two disk array controllers . the primary application for the icon chip is in disk array systems utilizing redundant disk array controllers . because the redundant controller configuration shares resources ( disk drives and scsi buses ) between two controllers , a method of arbitrating for these common resources must be utilized in order to prevent deadlocks and to maximize system performance . the icon chip contains a hardware implementation of a resource allocation algorithm which will prevent deadlocks and which strives to maximize system performance . in addition to performing resource arbitration / allocation , the icon chip also provides a means of sending / receiving generic multiple byte messages between disk array controllers . the icon chip includes the following logic modules : the microprocessor interface block allows an external microprocessor to configure and monitor the state of the icon chip . configuration and status information are maintained in registers within the icon chip . the configuration , control , and status registers are designed to provide operating software with a wide range of functionality and diagnostic operations . interrupt masking and control are also included in this functional block . the inter - controller communication block contains all structures and logic required to implement the inter - controller communication interface . this block includes the following structures / logic : send state sequencer 201 , receive state sequencer 203 , message send buffer 205 , message receive buffer 207 , status send register 209 , and status receive buffer 211 . these modules work together to form two independent unidirectional communication channels . serialization and deserialization of data packets occurs in send state sequencer 201 and receive state sequencer 203 modules . serial data output from the send state sequencer 201 may be fed into the receiver state sequencer 203 module for a full diagnostic data turnaround . the inter - controller communication block 200 is used to send generic messages and status or to send specific request / grant / release resource messages between two disk array controllers . communication between pairs of icon chips is provided by 6 signals . these signals are defined as follows : table 1______________________________________communication signal descriptionsname type deseription______________________________________ardy / out ` a ` port ready . this output is controlled by the icon ready bit in the control register and is monitored by the alternate controller . brdy / in ` b ` port ready . this input is used to monitor the ready / not ready status of the alternate controller . areq . dat / out ` a ` port request / serial data . this output signal is used to request data transfer and then send serial data to the alternate controller in response to the ` a ` port acknowledge signal . breq . dat / in ` b ` port request / serial data . this input is used to receive serial data from the alternate controller . aack / in ` a ` port acknowledge . this signal is received from the alternate controller as the handshake for a single data bit transfer . back / out ` b ` port acknowledge . this output signal is sent to the alternate controller to control a serial receive data transfer operation . ______________________________________ the resource allocation block 300 contains all structures and logic required to manage up to 8 shared resources between two disk array controllers , referred to as the master and slave disk array controllers . these structures / logic include the resource allocator 301 , two sets of resource request lists ( master / slave ) 303 and 305 , two sets of release resource fifos ( master / slave ) 307 and 309 , two sets of resources granted fifos ( master / slave ) 311 and 313 , and the resource scoreboard comprising resources allocated and resources available blocks 315 and 317 , respectively . the key element in this block is resource allocator 301 . this block consists of a hardware implementation of an intelligent resource allocation algorithm . all other data structures in this block are directly controlled and monitored by the resource allocator 301 . the resource allocator 301 present in the icon chip for the master controller continually monitors the state of the resource request lists 303 and 305 , the release resource fifos 307 and 309 , and resource scoreboard to determine how and when to allocate resources to either controller . the resource allocator 301 present in the icon chip for the slave controller is not active except during diagnostic testing . the controller functions logic 400 provides several board - level logic functions in order to increase the level of integration present on the disk array controller design . this invention encompasses the establishment of a simple communication link and protocol between devices sharing resources , and a unique arbitration algorithm which is used for the management of the shared resources . the communication link and protocol are used to request , grant , and release resources to or from the resource arbiter . the protocol requires the establishment among the devices sharing resources of a single master device , and one or more slave devices . the master / slave distinction is used only for the purposes of locating the active resource allocation logic 300 . although each controller includes resource allocation logic , this logic is only active in the master controller . in the discussion which follows , references to the resource allocation logic 300 and its components will refer to the active resource allocation logic and its components . both master and slave devices retain their peer to peer relationship for system operations . the active resource allocator 301 is implemented in the master device . a device formulates a resource request by compiling a list of resources that are required for a given operation . the resource request is then passed to the resource allocation logic 300 . the resource allocation logic 300 maintains a list of requests for each device in the system , seeking to satisfy all requests quickly and fairly . once the allocation logic can satisfy a particular request , it signals a grant to the requesting device for the resources requested . the device with the granted resource requests has access to the granted resources until it releases them . the release is then performed by sending a release message to the resource allocator to free the resources for consumption by other resource requests . all resource requests , request granting , and request freeing involving a slave device is performed by sending inter - device messages , which include message type and data fields , between the master ( where the active resource allocation logic is located ) and the slave devices using the interface described above . all resource requests , request grants , and request freeing involving only the master device may be done within the local to the master device . the resource allocation logic 300 located in the arbitrarily assigned master device includes a resource allocation algorithm and associated data structures for the management of an arbitrary number of shared resources between an arbitrary number of devices . the data structures and algorithm for sharing resources are discussed below . for each device which requires shared resource management , a request queue , or list of resource requests , of arbitrary depth is maintained by the master device ( master and slave request lists 303 and 305 ). associated with each of the device request queues are two count values , a list age ( which indicates the relative age of a device request queue with respect to the other request queues ) and a request age ( which indicates the relative age of the oldest entry in a single device &# 39 ; s request queue with respect to other entries in the same request queue ). in addition to the count values associated with each device request queue , two boolean flags are also maintained ; a request stagnation flag and a list stagnation flag . request stagnation true indicates that the relative age of a device &# 39 ; s oldest resource request has exceeded a programmable threshold value . list stagnation true indicates that the relative age of a device &# 39 ; s request queue with respect to other devices &# 39 ; request queues has exceeded a programmable threshold value . stagnation ( request or list ) is mutually exclusive between all devices , only one device can be in the stagnant state at any given time . the master device also maintains the current state of resource allocation and reservation by tracking &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; resources reserved &# 34 ;. &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; indicates to the resource allocation algorithm which resources are not currently in use by any device and are not currently reserved for future allocation . any resources contained within the &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; structure ( resources available block 317 ) are therefore available for allocation . &# 34 ; resources reserved &# 34 ; indicates to the resource allocation algorithm which resources have been reserved for future allocation due to one of the devices having entered the stagnant state ( request stagnation or list stagnation true ). once a device enters the stagnant state , resources included in the stagnant request are placed into the &# 34 ; reserved resources &# 34 ; structure ( resource reserved block 315 ) either by immediate removal from the &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; structure , or for resources currently allocated , at the time they are released or returned to the resource pool ) and kept there until all resources included in the stagnant request are available for granting . stagnation ( request or list ) is mutually exclusive between all devices ; only one device can be in the stagnant state at any given time . the last two data structures used by the resource allocation algorithm are pointers to the currently selected device ( generically termed turn and listselect ) which is having it &# 39 ; s resource request queue being searched for a match with available resources . resource allocation fairness is provided using the above - defined data structures . the request stagnation flag as previously described is used to ensure fairness in granting resource requests within a single device . for example , assuming random availability of resources , a device which requests most resources in groupings of two could starve it &# 39 ; s own requests for groupings of five resources from the same resource pool unless a mechanism for detecting and correcting this situation exists . the request age counts with their associated thresholds ensure that resource requests within a single device will not be starved or indefinitely blocked . the list stagnation flag is used to ensure fairness in granting resource requests between devices . for example , a device which requests resources in groupings of two could starve another device in the system requesting groupings of five resources from the same resource pool . the list age counts with their associated thresholds ensure that all devices &# 39 ; requests will be serviced more fairly and that a particular device will not become starved waiting for resource requests . two modes of operation are defined for the resource allocation algorithm : normal mode and stagnant mode . under normal mode of operation , no devices have entered the stagnant state and the algorithm uses the turn pointer in a round - robin manner to systematically examine each of the device &# 39 ; s request queues seeking to grant any resources which it can ( based on resource availability ) with priority within a device request queue based on the relative ages of the request entries . upon transition to the stagnant mode ( a device has enter the stagnant state ), the turn pointer is set to the stagnant device and the resource allocation algorithm will favor granting of the request which caused the stagnant state by reserving the resources included in the stagnant request such that no other device may be granted those resources . although the turn pointer is effectively frozen to the stagnant device , other device request queues and other entries within the stagnant device &# 39 ; s request queue will continue to search for resource matches based on what is currently available and not reserved using the secondary list pointer ( listselect ). the actual resource grant operation includes the removal of granted resources from the &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; structure along with the clearing of &# 34 ; resources reserved &# 34 ; structure ( if the resource grant was for a stagnant request ). resource freeing or release operations are accomplished simply by updating the &# 34 ; resources available &# 34 ; structure . the following is an implementation of the algorithm using the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; programming language for a sample case of a master and a single slave device with the following characteristics : as stated earlier , the number of devices , number of shared resources , and queue depth are strictly arbitrary . the functionality contained and implied by this algorithm is implemented in the device sharing the resources designated the master . the description describes the service poll used to look for a resource request to be granted from any controller . the release operation is simply provided by allocating the resources to be released to the channels available variable . although this example implementation uses the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; programming language , the implementation may take any form , such as other programming languages , hardware state machine implementations , etc . __________________________________________________________________________void resource . sub .-- allocation . sub .-- algorithm ( void ) /* beginresourceallocation algorithm */ int service . sub .-- loops ; resource . sub .-- operation * stagnant . sub .-- operation ;/* while (( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( slave . sub .-- list )) & amp ;& amp ; ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( master . sub .-- list )))*/ for ( service . sub .-- loops = 0 ; service . sub .-- loops & lt ; 4 : service . sub .-- loops ++) { if ( service . sub .-- loops == 0 ) { if ((! master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) & amp ;& amp ; (! master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ) & amp ;& amp ; (! slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) & amp ;& amp ; (! ! slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation )) { if ( last . sub .-- serviced == master ) turn = slave ; else turn = master ; } } if ( turn == master ) { if (! ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( master . sub .-- list ))) { master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; turn = slave ; continue ; } if ((! master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ) & amp ;& amp ; (! master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation )) { if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- master ()) { if ( oldest . sub .-- master . sub .-- serviced ) { turn = slave ; master . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; } else { master . sub .-- request . sub .-- age ++; if ( master . sub .-- request . sub .-- age & gt ;= request . sub .-- threshold ){ num . sub .-- master . sub .-- req . sub .-- stagnation ++; master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation = true ;} else { turn = slave ;} } /* a request from the master queue was serviced */ master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age ++; if (( slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age & gt ;= list . sub .-- thresho1d )& amp ;& amp ;(! master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation )) { if ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( slave . sub .-- list )){ num . sub .-- slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ++; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation = true ; turn = slave ; } } } else { /* no master queue request was serviced */ turn = slave ; } } else { /* master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation or master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation */ stagnant . sub .-- operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) master . sub .-- list -& gt ; head ; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- master ()) { if ( oldest . sub .-- master . sub .-- serviced ) { turn = slave ; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation = false ; master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation = false ; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age ++; master . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; } } else { if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- slave ()) { slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; if ( oldest . sub .-- slave . sub .-- serviced ) slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; } } } } else { /* turn = slave */ if (! ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( slave . sub .-- list ))) { slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; turn = master ; continue ; } if ((! slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ) & amp ;& amp ; (! slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation )) { if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- slave ()) { if ( oldest . sub .-- slave . sub .-- serviced ) { turn = master ; slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; } else { slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- age ++; if ( slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- age & gt ;= request . sub .-- threshold ){ num . sub .-- slave . sub .-- req . sub .-- stagnation ++; slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation = true ;} else { turn = master ;} } /* a request from the slave queue was serviced */ slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age ++; if (( master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age & gt ;= list . sub .-- threshold ) & amp ;& amp ;(! slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation )) { if ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( master . sub .-- list )){ num . sub .-- master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ++; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation = true ; turn = master ;} } } else { /* no slave queue request was serviced */ turn = master ; } } else { /* slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation or slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation */ stagnant . sub .-- operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) slave . sub .-- list -& gt ; head ; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- slave ()) { if ( oldest . sub .-- slave . sub .-- serviced ) { turn = master ; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation = false ; slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation = false ; master . sub .-- list . sub .-- age ++; slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- age = 0 ; } } else { if ( acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- master ()) { master . sub .-- list -- age = 0 ; if ( oldest . sub .-- master . sub .-- serviced ) master . sub .-- request . sub .-- age = 0 ; } } } } } } /************************************************************ ***/ status acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- master () /************************************************************ ***/ { resource . sub .-- operation * list . sub .-- end , * operation , * first . sub .-- operation ; node * operation . sub .-- node ; int temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; int first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available , other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; oldest . sub .-- master . sub .-- serviced = false ; if ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( master . sub .-- list )) { list . sub .-- end = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) master . sub .-- list ; first . sub .-- operation = operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) master . sub .-- list -& gt ; head ; first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ; other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ; if ( master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ∥ master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) { other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ( channels . sub .-- available & amp ; operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ); } if ( slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ∥ slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) { first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ( channels . sub .-- available & amp ; operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ); } do { operation . sub .-- node = ( node *) operation ; if ( operation == first . sub .-- operation ) temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; else temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; if ( operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map == ( operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map & amp ; temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available )) { /* channels are available for this operation ; grant it */ unlink . sub .-- node ( operation . sub .-- node ); link . sub .-- q . sub .-- tail ( master . sub .-- granted . sub .-- list , operation . sub .-- node ); channels . sub .-- available = operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ; if ( operation == first . sub .-- operation ) oldest . sub .-- master . sub .-- serviced = true ; last . sub .-- serviced = master ; age . sub .-- request . sub .-- age ( master . sub .-- list ); check . sub .-- channel . sub .-- use (); return ( true ); } operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) operation . sub .-- node -& gt ; next ; } while ( operation != list . sub .-- end ); return ( false ); } else { return ( false ); } } /************************************************************ ***/ status acquire . sub .-- from . sub .-- slave () /************************************************************ ***/ { resource . sub .-- operation * list . sub .-- end , * operation , * first . sub .-- operation ; node * operation . sub .-- node ; int temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; int first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available , other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; oldest . sub .-- slave . sub .-- serviced = false ; if ( q . sub .-- head . sub .-- is . sub .-- not . sub .-- empty ( slave . sub .-- list )) { list . sub .-- end = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) slave . sub .-- list ; first . sub .-- operation = operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) slave . sub .-- list -& gt ; head ; first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ; other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ; if ( slave . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ∥ slave . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) { other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ( channels . sub .-- available & amp ; operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ); } if ( master . sub .-- list . sub .-- stagnation ∥ master . sub .-- request . sub .-- stagnation ) { first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = channels . sub .-- available ( channels . sub .-- available & amp ; operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ); } do { operation . sub .-- node = ( node *) operation ; if ( operation == first . sub .-- operation ) temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = first . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; else temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available = other . sub .-- op . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available ; if ( operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map == ( operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map & amp ; temp . sub .-- channels . sub .-- available )) { /* channels are available for this operation ; grant it */ unlink . sub .-- node ( operation . sub .-- node ); link . sub .-- q . sub .-- tail ( slave . sub .-- granted . sub .-- list , operation . sub .-- node ); channels . sub .-- available = operation -& gt ; channel . sub .-- map ; if ( operation == first . sub .-- operation ) oldest . sub .-- slave . sub .-- serviced = true ; last . sub .-- serviced = slave ; age . sub .-- request . sub .-- age ( slave . sub .-- list ); check . sub .-- channel . sub .-- use (); return ( true ); } operation = ( resource . sub .-- operation *) operation . sub .-- node -& gt ; next ; } while ( operation != list . sub .-- end ); return ( false ); } else { return ( false ); } } /* end resource allocation algorithm */ __________________________________________________________________________ explanations and definitions for terms used in the above algorithm are provided below : service -- loops -- the number of requests that can be outstanding at any one time . master -- request -- stagnation -- the state entered when the master icon chip has serviced the slave icon requests too many times without servicing a master icon &# 39 ; s request . ( inter - icon fairness parameter ) master -- list -- stagnation -- the state entered when a request on the master icon &# 39 ; s request list is ` aged ` beyond a configurable threshold relative to other requests being serviced in the master icon &# 39 ; s request queue . ( this is used to promote intra - icon list request fairness to ensure starvation within the master icon &# 39 ; s list is avoided because of a request requiring a large number of resources waiting behind many requests requiring only small numbers of resources .) slave -- request -- stagnation -- the state entered when the master icon chip has serviced the master icon &# 39 ; s requests too many times without servicing a slave icon &# 39 ; s request . ( inter - icon fairness parameter ) slave -- list -- stagnation -- the state entered when a request on the slave icon &# 39 ; s request list is ` aged ` beyond a configurable threshold relative to other requests being serviced in the slave icon &# 39 ; s request queue . ( this is used to promote intra - icon list request fairness to ensure starvation within the slave icon &# 39 ; s request list is avoided because of a request requiring a large number of resources waiting behind lots of requests requiring only small numbers of resources .) last -- serviced -- a mechanism for providing fairness in servicing the least recently serviced controller . turn -- indicates which list will be looked at first when servicing requests . master -- list -- age -- the relative age of the request list for the master as compared to the number of requests serviced from the slave &# 39 ; s list . it is used to ensure that the master is serviced at worst case , after some number of requests have been serviced from the slave . when the master list age exceeds a threshold , the master -- request -- stagnation state is entered into . master -- request -- age -- the relative age of the oldest member of the master list when compared to the number of requests serviced from the master &# 39 ; s list . it is used to ensure that the oldest request on the master &# 39 ; s list is serviced at worst case , after some number of other requests have been serviced within the master list . when the master request age exceeds a threshold , the master -- list -- stagnation state is entered into . slave -- list -- age -- the relative age of the request list for the slave as compared to the number of requests serviced from the master &# 39 ; s list . it is used to ensure that the slave is serviced at worst case , after some number of requests have been serviced from the master . when the slave list age exceeds a threshold , the slave -- request -- stagnation state is entered into . slave -- request -- age -- the relative age of the oldest member of the slave list when compared to the number of requests serviced from the slave &# 39 ; s list . it is used to ensure that the oldest request on the slave &# 39 ; s list is serviced at worst case , after some number of other requests have been serviced within the slave list . when the slave request age exceeds a threshold , the slave -- list -- stagnation state is entered into . the algorithm presented above , together with the description of the invention provided earlier , should be readily understood by those skilled in the art as providing a method for managing the operations of multiple disk array controllers which share access to the disk drive units , busses , and other resources within the array . although the presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described , it will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims .

6Physics

in the following description of the drawings , identical reference signs are used for the same or functionally equivalent components . fig1 shows an euv radiation generating apparatus 1 that includes a driver laser device 2 , a beam guiding device 3 ( beam guiding chamber ), and a vacuum chamber 4 . a focusing device in the form of a focusing lens 6 is arranged in a vacuum environment formed in the vacuum chamber 4 to focus a co 2 laser beam 5 in a target region b . the euv radiation generating apparatus 1 shown in fig1 substantially corresponds to the design described in us 2011 / 0140008 a1 , which is incorporated into the content of this application by reference in its entirety . the illustration of measuring devices for monitoring the beam path of the laser beam 5 was dispensed with for reasons of clarity . as an alternative or in addition to a focusing lens 6 , the focusing device can have at least one reflecting optical element . the driver laser device 2 includes a co 2 beam source and a plurality of amplifiers for producing a laser beam 5 with a high radiation power (& gt ; 1 kw ). reference is made to us 2011 / 0140008 a1 for a detailed description of examples of possible configurations of the driver laser device 2 . from the driver laser device 2 , the laser beam 5 is deflected by a plurality of deflection mirrors 7 to 11 in the beam guiding chamber 3 and a further deflection mirror 12 in the vacuum chamber 4 onto the focusing lens 6 , which focuses the laser beam 5 in the target region b , in which tin is arranged as a target material 13 . instead of the focusing lens 6 , one or more mirrors for focusing the co 2 laser beam into the target region b can also be used . it is understood that other materials to tin can also be used as target material 13 . the target material 13 is hit by the focused laser beam 5 and , in the process , converted into a plasma state , which serves for the generating of euv radiation 14 . the target material 13 is supplied to the target region b with the aid of a provisioning device ( not shown here ), which guides the target material 13 along a predetermined path which crosses the target region b . in respect of details relating to the provision of the target material , reference is likewise made to the us 2011 / 0140008 a1 . an adjustment device 15 is arranged in a beam guiding space in the beam guiding chamber 3 , the adjustment device 15 serving to set a beam diameter d of the laser beam 5 and an aperture angle α ( cf . fig5 b ) of the laser beam 5 . the adjustment device 15 includes a first mirror 16 which has a first , convexly curved reflecting surface 16 a . the laser beam 5 that is incident on the first mirror 16 in collimated fashion is reflected by the first reflecting surface 16 a as a divergent laser beam 5 and it is incident on a second mirror 17 , which has a second , concavely curved reflecting surface 17 a . the laser beam 5 leaves the second mirror 17 as a converging laser beam 5 and it is incident on a third mirror 18 , which has a third , convexly curved reflecting surface 18 a . the laser beam 5 is reflected by the third mirror 18 as a divergent laser beam 5 and it is incident on a fourth mirror 19 , which has a fourth , concavely curved reflecting surface 19 a . the radii of curvature of the four reflecting surfaces 16 a - 19 a of the four mirrors 16 - 19 are matched to one another in such a way that the laser beam 5 is reflected in the manner described further above , e . g ., that the laser beam 5 is divergent between the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 , convergent between the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 , and divergent between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 . in the shown example , the first mirror 16 and the fourth mirror 19 are embodied as off - axis parabolic mirrors , e . g ., the first reflecting surface 16 a and the fourth reflecting surface 19 a each form an off - axis segment of an ( elliptical ) paraboloid . the term “ off - axis ” means that the reflecting surfaces 16 a , 19 a do not contain the axis of rotation of the paraboloid ( and hence do not contain the vertex of the paraboloid either ). the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 are embodied as ellipsoid mirrors , e . g ., the reflecting surfaces 17 a , 18 a each form a segment of an ellipsoid . in principle , the reflecting surfaces 17 a , 18 a may form symmetric segments of an ellipsoid , and so a respective segment of the ellipsoid has two equal focal lengths or back focal lengths for the incident laser beam and for the emerging laser beam . in the example shown below in fig2 a and 2b , the second mirror 17 is a nonsymmetrical ellipsoid mirror ( also referred to as an off - axis ellipsoid mirror ), in which the reflecting surface 17 a forms a segment of an ellipsoid which does not extend with rotational symmetry with respect to one of the major axes of the ellipsoid indicated in fig2 b , the reflecting surface 17 a forming a portion of said ellipsoid . the same applies to the reflecting surface 18 a of the third mirror 18 . the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 each have a different back focal length and focal length for the incident laser beam 5 and for the emerging laser beam 5 . the use of the second mirror 17 and of the third mirror 18 in the form of off - axis ellipsoid mirrors facilitates more degrees of freedom in relation to the design and the spacings of the four mirrors 16 to 19 than is the case for symmetrical ellipsoid mirrors . for setting the beam diameter d and the aperture angle α of the laser beam 5 , the adjustment device 15 includes a movement device 20 which is subsequently described in more detail on the basis of fig2 a . in the shown example , the movement device 20 has a basic body in the form of a carrier plate 21 , on which a ( first ) housing 22 is fastened rigidly , e . g ., by way of a screw - in connection . the housing 22 is embodied in the form of a cylinder with a rectangular base area ( e . g ., in the form of a cuboid ) and has an entrance opening ( not shown here ) at one end , through which the collimated laser beam 5 , which propagates along a beam axis ( x - axis of an xyz - coordinate system ), enters into the housing 22 . attached to the other end of the housing 22 is the first mirror 16 , at the reflecting surface 16 a of which the laser beam 5 emerges through a first opening 23 in the direction of the second mirror 17 which , together with the third mirror 18 , is arranged in a common , cuboid housing 24 . the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 are arranged at a fixed distance a from one another at opposite ends of the common housing 24 , which likewise has a cuboid embodiment . the divergent laser beam 5 enters into the common housing 24 at a second opening 25 ( which is covered in fig2 a ), it is reflected from the second mirror 17 to the third mirror 18 , and leaves the common housing 24 by way of a third opening 26 . the laser beam 5 emerging from the common housing 24 enters into a further housing 28 through a fourth opening 27 ( which is covered in fig2 a ), the fourth mirror 19 being arranged in said further housing . the further housing 28 likewise has a cuboid embodiment and the fourth mirror 19 is attached to one end of the cuboid housing 28 . at the opposite end of the further housing 28 , the laser beam 5 emerges from the further housing 28 , and hence from the adjustment device 15 , at an exit opening . in the example shown in fig2 a and 2b , the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 produce a z - fold of the laser beam 5 that is incident in the adjustment device 15 along the x - direction , i . e ., the laser beam 5 reflected at the second mirror 17 has substantially the same propagation direction as the incident laser beam 5 , i . e ., it extends with a substantially parallel offset to the incident laser beam 5 . accordingly , the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 of the adjustment device 15 produce a further z - fold , i . e ., the laser beam 5 impinging on the third mirror 18 is reflected by the third mirror 18 and fourth mirror 19 in such a way that the laser beam extends substantially parallel to the laser beam 5 impinging on the third mirror 18 . the z - fold at the first mirror 16 and second mirror 17 and the further z - fold at the third mirror 18 and fourth mirror 19 are matched to one another in such a way that the laser beam 5 that is incident into the adjustment device 15 and the laser beam 5 that emerges from the adjustment device 15 extend parallel to one another , i . e ., propagate in the x - direction in the shown example . the z - fold at the first mirror 16 and second mirror 17 , and the further z - fold at the third mirror 18 and fourth mirror 19 are matched to one another in such a way that the laser beam axis 33 a of the laser beam 5 between the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 , and the laser beam axis 33 b between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 , correspond . if , as in the shown example , the laser beam 5 that is incident into the adjustment device 15 and the laser beam 5 that emerges from the adjustment device 15 extend parallel to one another , an angle of incidence β of the laser beam 5 on the first mirror 16 typically corresponds in this case to an angle of incidence β of the laser beam 5 on the fourth mirror 19 . as a result of the parallel alignment of the respective laser beam axes 33 a , 33 b of the laser beam 5 , the housing 24 with the second mirror 17 and third mirror 18 can be displaced without a beam offset occurring in this case . without such a parallel alignment , a separate actuation of all four mirrors 16 to 19 might be required to compensate a possibly occurring beam offset . in the example shown in fig2 a and 2b , both the common housing 24 and the further housing 28 are mounted on the carrier plate 21 in a movable , more precisely displaceable , manner . the movement device 20 is embodied to move , more precisely displace , the common housing 24 and the further housing 28 independently of one another . for this purpose , a guide plate 29 is fastened to the outer side of the common housing 24 , and it is possible to displace said guide plate along a common displacement direction 30 which corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 29 . the guide plate 29 is fastened to the common housing 24 in such a way ( substantially centrally in the shown example ) that , in the case of the displacement along the common displacement direction 30 , the displacement direction 30 forms a displacement axis 30 a at the position at which the laser beam 5 impinges on the second mirror 17 , said displacement axis corresponding to the laser beam axis of the laser beam 5 impinging on the second reflecting surface 17 a of the second mirror 17 . accordingly , the fourth mirror 19 is also fastened to a further guide plate ( not shown in fig2 a ) to displace the further housing 28 along a further displacement direction 31 which , in the shown example , extends parallel to the common displacement direction 30 . the further guide plate is fastened to the further housing 28 in such a way ( substantially centrally in the shown example ) that the further displacement direction 31 , at the position at which the laser beam 5 impinges on the fourth mirror 19 , forms a further displacement axis 31 a , which corresponds to the laser beam axis of the laser beam 5 that impinges on the fourth reflecting surface 19 a of the fourth mirror 19 . the guide plate 29 is mounted in a linearly movable manner between two linear guides 32 a , 32 b that are formed on the carrier plate 21 , said linear guides being illustrated in fig3 a to fig5 a . the same applies to the further guide plate , the illustration of which was dispensed with for reasons of clarity , just like the illustration of further linear guides in fig2 a to fig5 a . the guide plate 29 can be displaced between the two linear guides 32 a , 32 b along the common displacement direction 30 by means of an actuator ( not shown ), for example a linear motor . the further housing 28 can also be displaced between the two further linear guides along the further displacement direction 31 by means of a further actuator , for example a further linear motor . the movement device 20 is embodied to actuate the actuator and the further actuator independently of one another such that the common housing 24 and the further housing 28 can be displaced independently of one another along the common displacement axis 30 a and along the further displacement axis 31 a , respectively . during the movement of the common housing 24 , the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 are displaced together relative to the first mirror 16 and the fourth mirror 19 . during the movement of the further housing 28 , the fourth mirror 19 is displaced relative to the first , stationary mirror 16 . fig2 a shows the movement device 20 in a basic position , in which a focal position f 1 of the first mirror 16 that is embodied as a paraboloid and a first focal position f 2 a of the second mirror 17 that is embodied as ellipsoid correspond . independently of the respective positioning of the adjustment device 15 , a second focal position f 2 b of the second mirror 17 corresponds to a first focal position f 3 a of the third mirror 18 that is likewise embodied as an ellipsoid since the two mirrors are arranged at a constant distance from one another . furthermore , in the basic position , a second focal position f 3 b of the third mirror 18 corresponds to a focal position f 4 of the fourth mirror 19 that is embodied as a paraboloid . the axis of symmetry 34 ( axis of rotation ) of the first ( parabolic ) mirror 16 , on which its focal position f 1 is situated , and the axis of symmetry 35 of the fourth ( parabolic ) mirror 19 , on which its focal position f 4 is situated , are aligned parallel to one another . fig2 b shows the beam profile of the laser beam 5 through the adjustment device 15 in the basic position of the movement device 20 shown in fig2 a . the laser beam 5 that is incident in the adjustment device 15 in collimated fashion emerges from the adjustment device 15 in collimated fashion in the basic position , with the beam diameter d of the emerging laser beam 5 being greater by a factor m relative to the beam diameter d ′ of the laser beam 5 entering into the adjustment device 15 , i . e ., the magnification nominally brought about by the adjustment device 15 is d / d ′= m . when using off - axis ellipsoid mirrors 16 , 17 , the ( magnification ) factor m of the adjustment device 15 emerges as the product of the ( magnification ) factor m 12 =− f 2 a / f 1 of the imaging by the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 , the ( magnification ) factor m 23 =− f 3 a / f 2 b of the imaging by the second mirror 17 and third mirror 18 , and by the ( magnification ) factor m 34 =− f 4 / f 3 b of the imaging by the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 , i . e ., the following applies : where f 1 , f 2 a , f 2 b , f 3 a , f 3 b , f 4 respectively denote the focal length , e . g ., the distance between the respective mirror 16 to 19 , or the respective reflecting surface 16 a to 19 a , and the respective focal position f 1 , f 2 a , f 2 b , f 3 a , f 3 b , f 4 . for the distance d 12 between the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 , in the basic position , d 12 = f 1 + f 2 a applies , for the distance d 23 ( and a ) between the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 , d 23 = f 2 b + f 3 a applies and for the distance d 34 between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 , d 34 = f 3 b + f 4 applies . the focal lengths f 1 , f 2 a , f 2 b , f 3 a , f 3 b , f 4 of the first mirror 16 to the fourth mirror 19 are dependent on the available installation space and , for example , may lie in the order of magnitude between approximately 500 mm and approximately 1000 mm . if the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 are embodied as symmetrical ellipsoid mirrors , the ( magnification ) factor simplifies as follows : m =− f 4 / f 1 . in this case , the following applies for the distance d 12 between the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 , the distance d 23 ( or a ) between the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 , and for the distance d 34 between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 : d 12 = f 1 + f 2 , d 23 = f 2 + f 3 and d 34 = f 3 + f 4 . as described further above , symmetrical ellipsoid mirrors have identical focal lengths , i . e . the following applies in this case : f 2 a = f 2 b = f 2 and f 3 a = f 3 b = f 3 . in the basic position , the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 are arranged in such a way that imaging of the incident laser beam 5 by the adjustment device 15 is carried out practically without aberrations since two of the focal positions f 1 , f 2 a , f 2 b , f 3 a , f 3 b , f 4 coincide in each case . in the example shown in fig2 b , the incident laser beam 5 has a beam diameter d ′ of approximately 40 mm . fig3 a and 3b show the movement device 20 and the beam profile through the adjustment device 15 in an upper position of the common housing 24 , in which the further housing 28 has been slightly displaced out of the basic position shown in fig2 a to compensate a parasitic change in divergence of the laser beam 5 , and so the emerging laser beam 5 continues to be collimated . in fig3 a and 3b , the common housing 24 is displaced into an upper position , in which it adjoins the further housing 28 . in the upper position shown in fig3 a , the further housing 28 is therefore arranged at a maximum possible distance from the first mirror 16 or from the housing 22 . in the upper position shown in fig3 a and 3b , the adjustment device 15 produces an emerging , collimated laser beam 5 with a minimum possible beam diameter d , the size of which depends on the possible displacement paths of the movement device 20 and the employed focal lengths and which , for example , may be at approximately 80 % of the magnification factor m produced in the basic position . fig4 a and 4b show the movement device 20 or the beam profile through the adjustment device 15 in a lower position of the common housing 24 , in which the further housing 28 has likewise been slightly displaced out of the basic position shown in fig2 a in order to compensate a parasitic change in divergence of the laser beam 5 and produce a collimated emerging laser beam 5 . in fig4 a and 4b , the common housing 24 is displaced into a lower position , in which the latter adjoins the stationary housing 22 in which the first mirror 16 is arranged . in the lower position shown in fig4 a , the further housing 28 is therefore arranged at a minimum possible distance from the first mirror 16 or from the housing 22 . in the lower position shown in fig4 a and 4b , the adjustment device 15 produces an emerging , collimated laser beam 5 with a maximum possible beam diameter d , the size of which depends on the possible displacement paths of the movement device 20 and the employed focal lengths and which , for example , may lie at approximately 120 % of the magnification factor m produced in the basic position . finally , fig5 a and 5b show the movement device 20 and the beam profile through the adjustment device 15 in a position in which the common housing 24 is positioned like in the basic position shown in fig2 a . in the position shown in fig5 a and 5b , the further housing 28 is displaced along the further displacement axis 31 a into a lower position , in which the further housing 28 adjoins the common housing 24 . in the position shown in fig5 a and 5b , the adjustment device 15 produces a divergent emerging laser beam 5 with approximately the maximum possible divergence , e . g ., the ( half ) aperture angle α of the laser beam 5 is increased by the maximum possible value in relation to the laser beam axis ( x - direction ), wherein the magnitude of the maximum ( half ) aperture angle α , for example , may be on the order of a few milliradians ( mrads ). the aperture angle α and the beam divergence of the laser beam 5 are presented in an exaggerated fashion in fig5 b for elucidation purposes . the ( virtual ) focal position of the divergent laser beam 5 emerging from the adjustment device 15 in fig5 b is at a distance of approximately fifty meters from the fourth mirror 19 in the shown example . the divergence of the laser beam 5 is produced by reducing the distance between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 in relation to the basic position . as described further above , the specific values for ( half ) the aperture angle α and for the ( virtual ) focal position of the emerging laser beam 5 depend on the employed focal lengths and the possible displacement paths of the movement device 20 . as a result of displacing the further housing 28 downward , the laser beam 5 impinges on the fourth mirror 19 with a smaller beam cross section than is the case in the basic position shown in fig2 a and 2b . accordingly , a nominal magnification of the laser beam 5 is produced in the position shown in fig5 a and 5b , said nominal magnification having a scale which is less than the ( nominal ) magnification factor m in the basic position ( i . e ., d / d ′& lt ; m applies ). by displacing the common housing 24 in the direction of the first mirror 16 , it is possible to increase the imaging scale , and so the latter once again corresponds to the nominal imaging scale m . in the case of such a displacement , the aperture angle α is further enlarged , which may be taken into account for setting the desired aperture angle α . by way of a movement of the further housing 28 along the further displacement axis 31 a into an upper position of the further housing 28 ( not presented pictorially ), the movement device 20 can produce a convergent emerging laser beam 5 , with the ( half ) aperture angle α of the convergent laser beam 5 likewise being of the order of a few milliradians . the focal position of the convergent laser beam 5 emerging from the adjustment device of fig5 b can , for example , likewise have a distance of approximately fifty meters from the fourth mirror 19 . the change in the imaging scale ( d / d ′& gt ; m ) which occurs during the upward displacement of the further housing 28 can be compensated by virtue of increasing the distance between the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 relative to the first mirror 16 , such that a convergent emerging laser beam 5 is produced with a beam diameter d , which corresponds to the nominal imaging scale ( d / d ′= m ). the aperture angle α decreases slightly in the case of such a displacement . in the case of the displacement of the further housing 28 , the emerging laser beam 5 is offset in the y - direction , i . e ., the latter impinges with a lateral offset on the first deflection mirror 9 ( cf . fig1 ) which follows the adjustment device 15 in the beam guiding device 3 . to compensate this beam offset , the first deflection mirror 9 and a further deflection mirror 10 , following the latter in the beam path , may be embodied to be swivelable about a respective tilt axis extending in the z - direction and / or to be displaceable in the y - direction . the tilts and / or the displacements of the deflection mirrors 9 , 10 are matched to one another in such a way that the laser beam 5 impinges on the subsequent deflection mirror 11 at the desired position ( and parallel to the x - direction , i . e . aligned at the correct angle ). it is understood that the compensation of the beam offset may , alternatively or additionally , also be carried out with the help of the further deflection mirrors 11 , 12 , or in any other way , so as to ensure that the laser beam 5 is focused onto the target position b as desired by the focusing lens 6 . only small aberrations occur in the positions of the movement device 20 shown in fig3 a and 3b to fig5 a and 5b and in the position not presented pictorially , in which a convergent laser beam 5 is formed . moreover , the energy distribution of the laser beam 5 is maintained over the beam cross section during the displacement of the second to fourth mirrors 17 , 18 , 19 . the adjustment device 15 described herein , including the first mirror 16 and the fourth mirror 19 , which are embodied as parabolic mirrors , and including the second mirror 17 and the third mirror 18 , which are embodied as ellipsoid mirrors , moreover facilitates a particularly compact realization of the adjustment device 15 , which is therefore particularly advantageous in view of the required installation space . no intermediate focus is produced in the beam path between the four mirrors 16 to 19 in the adjustment device 15 shown in fig2 a and 2b to fig5 a and 5b , in which the reflecting surfaces 16 a , 18 a of the first mirror 16 and the third mirror 18 have convex curvature and in which the second reflecting surface 17 a and the fourth reflecting surface 19 a of the second mirror 17 and of the fourth mirror 19 , respectively , have concave curvature . alternatively , it is also possible to embody the adjustment device 15 in such a way that one , two or three intermediate foci are produced in the beam path between the individual mirrors 16 to 19 , as described below in more detail on the basis of fig6 a , 6b and 6c , which show the adjustment device 15 , respectively , in the basic position , analogously to fig2 a and 2b . in the illustrations shown in fig6 a , 6b and 6c , the first mirror 16 and the fourth mirror 19 are embodied as off - axis paraboloid mirrors , as described further above , and the second mirror 17 and third mirror 18 are embodied as ellipsoid mirrors . in the adjustment device 15 shown in fig6 a , the reflecting surfaces 17 a , 18 a of the second mirror 17 and third mirror 18 each have a concave curvature , while the reflecting surfaces 16 a , 19 a of the first mirror 16 and the fourth mirror 19 each have a convex curvature . in this way , an intermediate focus is produced between the second mirror 17 and third mirror 18 . in the adjustment device 15 shown in fig6 b , the reflecting surface 16 a of the first mirror 16 has a convex curvature , while the reflecting surfaces 17 a to 19 a of the second to fourth mirrors 17 to 19 each have a concave curvature , as a result of which a second intermediate focus is formed between the third mirror 18 and the fourth mirror 19 . in the adjustment device 15 shown in fig6 c , the reflecting surfaces 16 a to 19 a of all four mirrors 16 to 19 each have a concave curvature , as a result of which a third intermediate focus is formed between the first mirror 16 and the second mirror 17 . it is understood that the adjustment devices 15 shown in fig6 a , 6b and 6c may be provided with a movement device 20 which is embodied in the manner described further above in order to set both the beam diameter d and the aperture angle α of the laser beam 5 . it is likewise understood that the movement device 20 may also have an embodiment that differs from the one shown in fig2 a and 2b to fig6 a , 6b and 6c . also , the adjustment device 15 can be used to produce a nominal reduction in size of the laser beam 5 with a reduction scale 1 / m by virtue of reversing the beam direction of the laser beam 5 . the adjustment device 15 with the movement device 20 or the beam guiding device 3 can also be used in a meaningful manner in other optical arrangements than in the euv radiation generating apparatus 1 that is described further above , in which other optical arrangements an adjustment of both the beam diameter d and the aperture angle α of a laser beam 5 is required , in particular in the case of optical arrangements which have a very long beam path or require very high powers . by way of example , such a beam guiding device 3 can be used in a laser processing machine for laser welding and / or laser cutting applications . a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .

6Physics

referring to the drawings in detail , a cord reel is denoted generally therein by the numeral 10 . cord reel 10 comprises a housing 12 including a peripheral wall 14 and a radial wall 16 ( fig4 and 5 ). peripheral wall 14 is provided with an aperture thereto at 17 , bounded and reinforced by smoothly rounded jambs 18 , and a handle 19 angularly displaced from the aperture . mounted for rotation within housing 12 is a reel 20 comprising a hub 22 including peripheral hub wall 23 , from which there radiates opposed cheekwalls 24 parallel to radial housing wall 16 . as seen in fig4 and 5 , radial wall 16 has an inwardly turned portion at 26 , this portion being concentrically located within hub 22 and spaced therefrom . inwardly turned portion 26 terminates in a radial flange 28 , the flange having a plurality of notches 29 disposed about the periphery thereof . housing peripheral wall 14 generally closely surrounds the perimeter of cheek walls 24 to preclude access to the interior of the housing 12 therebetween . however , the peripheral wall is outwardly divergent towards aperture 17 , and a shaped fillet 30 locates between upper cheek wall 24 and peripheral wall 14 in the vicinity of aperture 17 , being releasably secured to jambs 18 by screws 31 . it will be appreciated that fillet 30 serves to reinforce peripheral wall 14 in the vicinity of aperture 17 . radial housing wall 16 is integrally formed with a fillet portion similarly shaped to fillet 30 and which secures to the lower end of jambs 18 to close off the housing . hub 22 is divided into upper and lower compartments 32 , 34 respectively by hub radial walls 36 , 38 and 40 , wall 40 being detachable from wall 38 and secured thereto by a plurality of machine screws 42 and spacers 44 . housing radial wall 16 is stepped at 46 and detachable hub radial wall 40 i dimensional to engage behind step 46 , whilst being radially spaced therefrom , so as to prevent hub 22 being withdrawn from housing 12 . antifriction washer 48 locates between flange 28 and the intermediate hub radial wall 38 , permitting reel 20 to rotate freely within housing 12 . a handle 49 is provided to rotate reel 20 . within compartment 34 there locates a plunger 50 which is spring biased upwardly by helical spring 52 . plunger 50 is shaped and located so as to engage a notch 29 when in its upward position , thereby locking reel 20 to preclude the rotation thereof . hub radial wall 36 is windowed at 53 to provide access to upper compartment 32 of hub 22 . window 53 is closed by shutter 54 which is hinged at 56 along one side thereof to hub radial wall 36 . within compartment 32 is located at latch 58 , which is pivotally secured at 60 to radial hub wall 38 by a furcated latch arm 62 . latch 58 is biased towards hinge 56 by a spring 64 . shutter 54 is provided with a downwardly dependent catch 66 which engages latch 58 to retain the shutter in a closed position thereby preventing access to upper compartment 32 of hub 22 . plunger 50 is provided with a stem 68 which projects upwardly through hub radial wall 38 into upper compartment 32 to terminate within the boundary of window 53 adjacent hub radial wall 36 . lateral play of plunger stem 68 is precluded by a surrounding tubular wall 70 therefor mounted from wall 38 . shutter 54 is provided with a small downwardly dependent post 72 which locates so as to bear upon plunger stem 68 when the shutter 54 is in its closed position , and so disengage plunger 50 from notch 29 , thereby unlocking reel 20 so as to permit the rotation thereof . an aperture 74 through hub peripheral wall 23 is provided in general radial alignment with the furcated opening in latch arm 62 , thereby forming a passage from housing 12 into upper compartment 32 . having described the structure of cord reel 10 , the manner of operation thereof will now be described . a standard electrical extension cord 80 having a plug connector 82 and a socket connector 84 at opposed ends thereof has one end which enters housing 12 at aperture 17 and passes into upper compartment 34 via the passage provided by hub wall opening 74 and the furcation of latch arm 62 to float within the compartment , that is to say it is freely moveable within the confines thereof . assuming connector 82 to be nested within hub compartment 32 , as shown in fig4 shutter 54 may be closed and latched into place , thereby capturing connector 82 within compartment 32 and rendering cord 80 inoperably for the purpose of supplying current to an electrical curcuit . as shutter 54 is moved to its latched position , post 72 simultaneously bears upon plunger stem 68 to force plunger 50 downwards out of contact with notch 30 , thereby unlocking reel 20 . cord 80 may now be wound on reel 20 using handle 49 . for as long as shutter 54 remains closed , cord 80 is effectively rendered inoperative . shutter 54 can be opened only by disengaging catch 66 from latch 58 . latch 58 is operable by applying tension to cord 80 , thereby drawing connector 82 into contact with latch arm 62 and causing the latch arm to rotate against the bias of spring 64 . assuming cord 80 to be wound onto reel 20 , tension applied to the cord extending from housing 12 will cause reel 20 to turn , and the cord will be unwound . no tension will be transmitted to connector 82 until cord 80 is essentially unwound from reel 80 . even assuming handle 49 were held to prevent reel 20 from rotating freely , tension applied to cord 80 would be expanded by frictional forces with any more than 2 - 3 turns of cord 80 on the reel . in practice , cord 80 is found to be fully unwound from reel 20 , with apertures 17 and 74 in general radial alignment , prior to catch 66 being released . once connector 82 is accessible , cord 80 becomes operable . by pulling on connector 82 , cord is drawn through aperture 17 into hub 22 and through window 53 until a desired length of cord is obtained to connect plug 80 to a convenience receptacle or the like . the spacing between jambs 18 is such as to permit cord 80 to be drawn readily into and from housing 12 , but to prevent connector 84 from passing into the housing . in the event that it is required to replace cord 80 , fillet 30 is detached from jambs 18 by withdrawing screws 31 , thereby providing an opening of sufficient size to permit the passage of either connector 82 or 84 therethrough . pivot 60 , which retains furcated latch arm 62 in position , is withdrawn , thereby disengaging cord 80 and permitting either connector end 82 or 84 to be threaded through compartment aperture 74 , and a new cord to be inserted in housing 12 . whilst my invention has been particularized in relation to one specific embodiment thereof , it will be appreciated that many departures therefrom may be expedient whilst achieving the same ends , and it is intended that all such departures be encompassed within the scope of my invention .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

to enhance sensitivity and wavelength selectivity , infrared sensing arrays may include an integral optical cavity , tuned for the wavelength of interest , for example 9 - 10 μm for thermal imaging of human subjects . the cavity is formed by placing a reflector one quarter wavelength ( λ / 4 ) behind the sensors in the array . ( the reflector is “ behind ” the sensor array in the sense that the reflector is placed on the side of the array that is opposite the side on which the radiation to be sensed is actually incident . in terms of fabrication , on the other hand , the reflector is typically placed over the front side of the sensor chip , while the radiation is incident on the back side .) the reflector may be formed as an extended metal layer , which is deposited on a cap wafer that is then bonded to the wafer on which the sensor array is formed , so that the reflector is positioned at the appropriate distance ( λ / 4 ) from the sensors themselves . in experiments with this configuration , however , the inventors found that because of the machining and thinning of the wafer on which the sensor array is formed , the array tends to warp in the center . consequently , the distance between the sensors and the reflector varies substantially over the area of the array , resulting in substantial variations in the optical cavity length . embodiments of the present invention that are described herein overcome this limitation by attaching an individual optical cavity to each sensor in an array . instead of adding a separate reflector for all ( or a large group ) of the sensors , the individual reflectors are typically created by using the metal and dielectric layers that are deposited integrally on the sensor chip as part of the wafer fabrication process . the individual cavities in this case may be open ( i . e ., they may contain vacuum or air between the sensing element and the reflecting layer ), or they may contain dielectric material that is transparent to the ir wavelengths of interest . because the cavities are fixed to the individual sensors , the desired cavity dimensions are maintained even in the face of warping of the array as a whole . as a result , coupling of the incoming ir radiation to the sensors is enhanced . furthermore , the use of individual reflectors , as opposed to a single , common reflector for multiple sensors , reduces crosstalk between neighboring sensors and thus enhances the resolution of the array . although the embodiments that are described herein refer specifically to tmos sensor designs , the principles of the present invention may similarly be applied to other types of ir sensor arrays . fig1 is a conceptual sectional view of an ir sensor array 20 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the array comprises multiple sensing elements 21 , each comprising a sensor 22 , such as a tmos sensor , and an individual optical cavity 24 . although this sectional view shows only a part of a single row of sensing elements , in practice the sensing elements are typically arranged in a two - dimensional matrix array , with supporting structures that connect them to the surrounding substrate , as described , for example , in the above - mentioned patent . these structures are omitted here for the sake of simplicity . cavities 24 are formed by reflectors 26 , which are held by support structures 28 at a distance of λ / 4 from sensors 22 . as a result , when radiation is incident on the array , as illustrated by the arrows coming up from the bottom of the figure , the portion of the radiation that is not absorbed in sensors 22 passes through cavities 24 , reflects back from reflectors 26 , and nulls the incident radiation at the sensor surface . reflectors 26 are held in place by “ columns ” 28 , comprising metal and possibly dielectric layers , which are deposited on the sensor wafer as a part of the fabrication process . cavities 24 in this example are shown as open spaces , but the cavities may alternatively contain dielectric material , as illustrated in fig3 and 4 . fig2 a and 2b schematically show details of the structure of sensing elements 21 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a is a sectional view , while fig2 b is a top view of reflector 26 . in this example , sensor 22 is formed from a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) wafer , with the silicon base wafer etched off the back side to reveal a buried oxide ( box ) layer 30 . the sensor itself comprises a silicon wafer layer 32 , with a polysilicon layer 34 deposited over the wafer and doped to define a source 36 , a drain 38 , and a gate 40 of the tmos transistor . typically , the area of each sensing element is on the order of 45 × 45 μm ( and these are the dimensions of the reflector shown in fig2 b ), but larger or smaller sensing elements may similarly be produced in this manner . reflector 26 is supported at a distance of λ / 4 from the tmos transistor by columns 28 , which comprise a stack of metal layers 42 and interconnecting vias 44 . in this case , λ / 4 is roughly 2 . 5 μm , since cavity 24 is under vacuum or filled with air . the layers and vias in columns 28 are formed by the deposition steps that are applied in depositing and etching successive metal and dielectric layers over wafer layer 32 . these same metal layers 42 ( comprising copper , for example ) are typically also used for making connections to source 36 , drain 38 , and gate 40 of the transistors and other elements of the sensor array device . reflector 26 is likewise formed from one of these metal layers , for example , the fourth metal layer ( m4 ), which is dedicated and shaped for use as the individual cavity reflectors , rather than for electrical connections . additional metal layers 46 , 48 may overlie reflector 28 . in the pictured example , reflector 26 is perforated by a matrix of through - holes . these through - holes , whose width is substantially less than λ / 4 , are etching holes , which are used in removing the dielectric material from cavity 24 in order to give the desired , overall optical path length of λ / 4 between the transistor and reflector 26 . fig3 is a schematic sectional view of a sensing element 50 in a tmos sensor array , in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , cavity 24 contains dielectric material , so that the radiation wavelength in the cavity is effectively shorter ( by 1 / n , wherein n is the effective refractive index at the radiation wavelength ). therefore , the cavity is simpler to fabricate and more stable than an open cavity , and it may be made physically shorter than the open cavity of the preceding embodiments . sensing element 50 comprises a box layer 52 , overlaid by a silicon wafer 56 with a polysilicon layer 58 containing the source and drain of the sensor transistor , separated from the box layer by shallow - trench isolation ( sti ) 54 . a silicon nitride layer 60 is deposited over the transistor components , followed by a pre - metal dielectric ( pmd ) layer 62 . a first metal layer 64 ( m1 ) is deposited over pmd layer 62 , with vias ( not shown in the figure ) connecting it to the source , drain and gate of the transistor in layer 58 . layer 64 may be formed using a damascene process , for example , by depositing a silicon nitride layer 66 followed by an inter - layer dielectric ( ild ) 68 , and then etching trenches and filling them with copper . these layers are overlaid with another silicon nitride layer 70 and ild 72 , followed by a further metal layer 74 ( m2 ), which serves as the cavity reflector . additional nitride layers 76 , ild 78 and metal layers 80 may be formed over or alongside cavity 24 . cavity 24 in sensing element 50 extends between polysilicon layer 58 and metal layer 74 . the effective dielectric constant ε eff of the cavity , at the relevant wavelength ( 9 μm in this example ), can be computed using the individual thicknesses and respective dielectric indices of the layers in the cavity , as illustrated in the following table : layer thickness ( nm ) ε weight nitride 50 7 350 pmd 360 4 . 2 1512 nitride 40 8 . 1 324 ild 220 3 . 7 814 nitride 40 8 . 1 324 ild 360 3 . 7 1332 sum 1070 4650 based on this table , the effective dielectric constant ε eff of the entire cavity is 4650 / 1070 = 4 . 351 . the effective refractive index n eff of cavity 24 is equal to the square root of ε eff , i . e ., n eff = 2 . 09 . therefore , the effective thickness of the cavity is 2 . 09 × 1 . 070 μm ≅ 2 . 25 μm , i . e ., λ / 4 at 9 μm . the layer thicknesses may be adjusted in similar fashion to give substantially any desired effective cavity thickness for any target wavelength . since metal layer 74 serves as a reflector , it is generally not available for connection of the circuit elements in the sensor array . layer 80 ( m3 ) and higher metal layers may be used for this purpose . the addition of dielectric and metal layers over each sensor in the manner shown in fig3 increases the thermal mass , and hence the response time , of the sensing elements , but the sensor array may be designed to minimize this effect , as shown in the next figure . fig4 is a schematic sectional view of an array 90 of sensing elements 50 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . box layer 52 , on which sensing elements 50 are formed , is supported by a part of a silicon substrate 92 that remains after etching away the original soi support wafer . source 36 and drain 38 , which are formed in a polysilicon layer 94 , are connected by vias to respective conductors in metal layer 64 , as is gate 40 . sensing elements 50 comprise dielectric cavities 96 with an effective thickness of λ / 4 between the transistor and the individual reflector that is formed by metal layer 74 in each sensing element . additional metal layers are contained in columns 98 , which serve to maintain the optical and thermal separation between adjacent sensing elements . optionally , the sensor arrays described above may include a “ blind sensor ,” which senses only its own temperature and not the scene background , and can thus be used as an indicator of sensor array temperature for purposes of background subtraction . there are several approaches to making a sensor “ blind ”: 1 . a sensor that “ sees ” a mirror ( not a cavity ) is blind since it sees only “ itself ”. 2 . a sensor with the “ wrong ” cavity will be blind since it will not absorb radiation of the target wavelength . 3 . a sensor covered with a mirrors ( in the direction of the incoming flux ), which completely reflect the incoming radiation , will similarly be blind . fig5 is a schematic sectional illustration of a blind sensing element 100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . sensing element 100 is an example of the second approach listed above for creating a blind sensor . in element 100 , first metal layer 64 ( m1 ) is extended across the cavity behind the sensing element , at a distance equal to λ 1 / 4n eff , such that λ 1 & lt ; λ 2 , wherein λ 2 is the wavelength of interest , such as 9 - 10 μm as in the preceding examples . the effective optical path from the transistor to m 1 is thus considerably less than λ 2 / 4n eff , and sensing element 100 will therefore be blind to radiation of wavelength λ 2 . at the same time , a bandpass filter 102 , which is typically provided in order to prevent radiation outside the range of interest , such as outside the range of 9 - 10 μm , from reaching the sensing elements , blocks radiation at wavelength λ 1 . consequently , blind sensing element 100 will absorb very little radiation from the scene . this blind sensing element and the enhanced capabilities it supports can be provided at little or no added cost in terms of device fabrication and packaging . fig6 is a schematic sectional illustration of a multi - band sensing element 110 , in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . in this case , metal layer 64 is patterned to create an additional cavity reflector 112 , at a distance λ 1 / 4n eff from the transistor in sensing element 110 . metal layer 74 remains positioned at a distance λ 2 / 4n eff from the transistor , as in the preceding examples . consequently , the cavity behind sensing element 110 has resonances at both λ 1 and λ 2 , and the sensing element will thus be sensitive to both of these wavelengths ( assuming neither wavelength range is filtered out of the incoming radiation ). sensing element 110 may be designed in this manner , for example , to sense radiation in both the 3 - 5 μm and 8 - 10 μm bands . optionally , the geometry of the sensing element may be modified to have three or more resonant wavelengths . as a further option , different sensing elements in the same array may have respective reflectors at different distances , so that different sensing elements are sensitive to different wavelengths . it will be appreciated that the embodiments described above are cited by way of example , and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather , the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove , as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art .

6Physics

as shown in fig1 a ballast 10 , which includes a drive control circuit 65 , is connected to a lamp 85 . lamp 85 can be , but is not limited to a fluorescent lamp of the cold cathode type , which is partially surrounded by a shield 925 . the light from lamp 85 can be used to illuminate a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) of a computer ( not shown ). shield 925 reflects light from lamp 85 toward the lcd . a portion of the electromagnetic interference ( emi ) generated by lamp 85 is also blocked by shield 925 so as to minimize interfering with surrounding electrical devices . the parasitic capacitance between lamp 85 and shield 925 is represented by a parasitic capacitor 80 . lamp 85 is connected to a secondary winding 915 of a transformer 910 . the leakage inductance of transformer 910 is represented by leakage inductor 83 . the parasitic capacitances associated with transformer 910 are represented by a capacitor 81 . parasitic capacitances associated with transformer 910 can exist between a primary winding 920 of transformer 910 and secondary 915 , within secondary winding 915 and primary winding 920 , between a ferrite core 911 of transformer 910 and secondary winding 915 / primary winding 920 and between transformer 910 and ground . a resonant circuit is formed by a resonant inductor 75 , leakage inductor 83 and parasitic capacitors 80 and 81 . other than resonant inductor 75 , there is no other discrete inductor or capacitor included which substantially affects the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit . there is also no discrete ballasting element , typically a capacitor , in series with lamp 85 . the elimination of these discrete components from the resonant circuit or serially connected to lamp 85 reduces the parts count and cost of ballast 10 . power losses associated with these discrete components are also eliminated thereby improving the ballast efficiency . a capacitor 126 is serially connected to resonant inductor 75 . a pair of switches 100 and 112 are serially connected between a bus 40 and a bus 50 . bus 40 is at the high rail voltage . bus 50 is at the low rail ( common ) voltage . switches 100 and 112 are metal oxide semiconductor , field effect transistors ( mosfets ) which are joined together at a junction 110 . a capacitor 115 is connected from a junction 110 to rail 50 . capacitor 126 is a blocking capacitor which filters out the dc portion of a trapezoidal voltage ( vds ) produced at junction 110 . trapezoidal voltage vds is illustrated in fig2 c . capacitor 115 slows down the voltage transition ( dv / dt ) across the drain - source voltage of each switch 100 and 112 and thereby facilitates turn on and turn off of each switch when the voltage thereacross is substantially zero ( i . e . zero voltage switching ). the half - bridge switching circuit ( i . e . switching stage ) includes switches 100 and 112 . these switches are turned on and off by a drive control circuit ic 109 . a gating signal vg1 is supplied by ic 109 along a gate line 1002 to control the conductive state of switch 100 . a gating signal vg2 is supplied by ic 109 along a gate line 1004 to control the conductive state of switch 112 . switches 100 and 112 are never turned on at the same time and have on time duty ratios of slightly less than 50 % as shown in fig2 a and 2b , respectively . a small dead time tdead during which both switches are turned off is required to permit the zero voltage switching to be implemented . a switch 815 prevents switch 100 from being turned on when switch 112 is turned on . gating signals at high logic levels supplied at the same time to each of these switches for turning on each switch can occur during a fault ( transient ). the gates of switches 112 and 815 are connected to each other . when switch 112 is turned on by gating signal vg2 being at a high logic level , switch 815 is also turned on by gating signal vg2 . when switch 815 is turned on , the gating signal vg1 is shunted to bus 50 thereby turning off switch 100 . accordingly , switch 100 can not remain in a conductive state when switch 112 is turned on . a capacitor 800 is an input bypass capacitor for filtering the high frequency harmonics generated by switches 100 and 112 . a dc voltage source , such as a battery ( not shown ), when connected to a pair of terminals 61 and 62 which terminate buses 40 and 50 , respectively , provides a dc voltage between buses 40 and 50 . a pair of transistors ( e . g . bipolar transistors ) 805 and 810 , a pair of resistors 820 and 830 and a zener diode 825 together form a linear regulator . this linear regulator is connected to a pin vdd of ic 109 to power the latter . a ttl logic - level signal from an external source such as , but not limited to , a computer ( not shown ) is applied along a line 1010 to the base of transistor 810 through a terminal 63 . when terminal 63 is at a high logic level , transistor 810 turns on which activates the linear regulator . the regulated voltage supplied to pin vdd of ic 109 by the linear regulator is equal to the sum of the voltages across zener diode 825 and resistor 830 . the voltage across resistor 830 is equal to the voltage at terminal 63 less the voltage across the base - emitter of switch 810 . when terminal 63 is at a low logic level , transistor 810 turns off . the linear regulator is deactivated . no voltage is supplied to pin vdd of ic 109 . ic 109 and ballast 10 are shut down . in other words , when terminal 63 is at a high logic level , ballast 10 is turned on . when terminal 63 is at a low logic level , ballast 10 is turned off . the linear regulator , which is connected to bus 40 through a line 1001 , permits a relatively large range of dc power supplies to be connected between terminals 61 and 62 for operating ballast 10 . generally , dc power supplies ranging from about 8 volts to about 30 volts can be used for operating ballast 10 . the linear regulator also minimizes the power required to operate ic 109 . the power dissipated by ic 109 and its associated circuitry is minimized by the linear regulator maintaining a relatively constant level of voltage supplied to pin vdd of ic 109 . the voltage outputted by the linear regulator is substantially the same regardless of whether the voltage across terminals 61 and 62 is about 8 volts or about 30 volts . ic 109 tracks the resonant frequency by sensing the current flowing through resonant inductor 75 and operates the half - bridge inverter at a switching frequency above the resonant frequency . a resistor 900 and a capacitor 905 form an integration circuit for sensing the current flowing through resonant inductor 75 . the voltage across capacitor 905 , which is approximately proportional to the integral of the voltage of a winding 950 coupled to inductor 75 , represents the current through inductor 75 . ic 109 senses the zero - crossing of current flowing through inductor 75 based on the voltage at an rind pin of ic 109 . based on the zero - crossing timing and the feedback system , ic 109 determines the forward conduction time for switches 100 and 112 . ic 109 drives the half - bridge inverter into an inductive mode so that there is a phase delay between the half - bridge node voltage vds and the inductor current il as shown in fig2 c and 2d . capacitive mode operation of the inverter is prevented by a capacitive mode protection circuit within ic 109 . ic 109 regulates lamp power by sensing lamp current and lamp voltage . lamp current is sensed by a sensing resistor 153 . the lamp current signal is fed to a pair of pins li1 and li2 of ic 109 through a pair of resistors 171 and 168 along a pair of lines 1007 and 1006 , respectively . the lamp current signal is amplified and rectified by ic 109 . lamp voltage is sensed from primary winding 920 by the combination of a line 1008 , a diode 180 , a pair of resistors 930 and 189 and a capacitor 183 . the rc network of resistors 930 and 189 and capacitor 183 forms a low - pass filter which provides an average value of lamp voltage to be applied to a pin vl of ic 109 . ic 109 calculates the lamp power by multiplying the lamp current signal and lamp voltage signal . the calculated lamp power is represented by a current which is supplied to a crect pin of ic 109 . the current supplied to the crect pin by ic 109 flows into an rc network formed by a pair of resistors 935 and 195 and a pair of capacitors 192 and 940 . this rc network has two poles and one zero to stabilize a feedback system . a dc voltage is provided at the crect pin through a low - pass filter formed by a resistor 195 and a capacitor 192 . the dc voltage at the crect pin is compared with the voltage at a dim pin of ic 109 by an error amplifier within ic 109 . the output of the error amplifier controls the forward conduction time of switches 100 and 112 . a feedback system maintains the voltage at the crect pin equal to the voltage at the dim pin thereby regulating lamp power . adjusting the voltage level at the dim pin changes the level to which the lamp power will be set to . the maximum lamp power as characterized by lamp brightness can be set to one of two levels by the ttl level ( 0 or 5 volts ) applied to a terminal bright of ballast 10 from an external source ( not shown ). the bright terminal is connected to a resistor 835 by a line 1011 . another terminal vdd of ballast 10 is connected to resistor 840 by a line 1012 . terminal vdd 10 is connected to an external dc voltage source ( e . g . 5 v ) ( not shown ). when a low logic level ( e . g . 0 volts ) is applied to terminal bright , the voltage applied to the dim pin , which sets the lamp power to one of two maximum levels , is determined by the voltage divider formed by a pair of resistors 835 and 840 . when a high logic level ( e . g . 5 volts ) is applied to terminal bright , the voltage applied to the dim pin increases and is clamped by ic 109 at about 3 . 0v , resulting in a higher maximum lamp power level . actual dimming of the lamp is based , in part , on a control circuit 198 which includes a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) scheme . the voltage at the crect pin is equal to the product of the current flowing out from the crect pin and the resistance connected from the crect pin to bus 50 ( i . e . common ). the voltage at the crect pin is maintained at the same voltage as the dim pin by the feedback system . when an additional resistor is connected between the crect pin and bus 50 , the total resistance between the crect pin and bus 50 is reduced . a higher current flows from the crect pin in order to maintain the voltage at the crect pin at the same voltage as the dim pin . this higher current level represents that more power is delivered to the lamp increasing its brightness . when the resistance between the crect pin and bus 50 is increased , a lower current flows from the crect pin in maintaining the crect pin voltage equal to the dim pin voltage . this lower current level represents that less power is delivered to the lamp decreasing its brightness . the amount of resistance between the crect pin and bus 50 is controlled by control circuit 198 . control circuit 198 includes a dual voltage - comparator ic 850 having an open - collector output at its pin outb . ic 850 is available , for example , from national semiconductor corporation of santa clara , calif . as part no . lm393m . the supply voltage for ic 850 is provided from terminal 63 of ballast 10 . one of the two voltage comparators within ic 850 in combination with a plurality of resistors 855 , 860 , 865 , 870 and 875 and a capacitor 880 form a triangular waveform oscillator at a frequency of 100 hz - 1 khz . a second voltage comparator within ic 850 compares the voltage from a dimin terminal of ballast 10 with the triangular waveform across capacitor 880 . the outb pin is at the bus 50 ( common ) potential when the voltage of the triangular waveform is greater than the voltage at an inb + pin of ic 850 . the outb pin is otherwise open ( floating ) when the voltage of the triangular waveform is less than the voltage at the inb + pin of ic 850 . in other words , a duty ratio dpwm of the outb pin is determined by the voltage at terminal dimin . the dimin terminal is connected to an external dc voltage source ( not shown ) which varies in potential between about 0 to 5 volts . resistor rdim is therefore connected and disconnected between the crect pin and bus 50 at the dpwm duty ratio of the outb pin . lamp power will therefore jump between a higher and lower level at the dpwm duty ratio . the average lamp power is proportional to the dpwm duty ratio . the level to which lamp 85 is dimmed is determined by the voltage applied to terminal dimin . the dimin terminal is connected to resistor 895 by a line 1009 . resistors 895 and 885 form a voltage divider , the voltage at the junction therebetween being biased by the voltage at terminal 63 through resistor 890 . the higher the voltage at the dimin terminal , the smaller the duty ratio dpwm thereby lowering the average lamp power and light level . in the event of lamp short - circuit , a large current may flow through resonant inductor 75 . a higher voltage across capacitor 905 results . this higher voltage is sensed by the combination of a diode 182 , a pair of resistors 930 and 189 and capacitor 183 . the rc network of resistors 930 and 189 and capacitor 183 forms a low - pass filter which provides an average value of voltage at capacitor 905 to be applied to a pin vl of ic 109 . the average value of voltage represents the current flowing through inductor 75 . the product of inductor 75 current and lamp 85 current can thereby be regulated . saturation of inductor 75 is therefore prevented . ic 109 , ic 850 and transistors 805 , 810 and 815 can be integrated into a single ic chip if desired . integrated circuit ( ic ) 109 includes a plurality of pins . a pin rind is connected by a line 1005 to junction 179 of resistor 900 and capacitor 905 . resistor 900 and capacitor 905 form an integration circuit to sense current through inductor 75 . the voltage across capacitor 905 , which is approximately proportional to the integral of the voltage at the secondary winding 950 of inductor 75 , represents the current through inductor 75 . therefore the input voltage at pin rind reflects ( a representative sample ) the level of current flowing through inductor 75 . a pin vdd , which is connected to junction 807 of the linear regulator , supplies the voltage for driving ic 109 . a pin li2 is connected through a resistor 168 to bus 50 ( common ). a pin li1 is connected through a resistor 171 to junction 88 . the difference between the currents inputted to pins li1 and li2 reflects the sensed current flowing through lamp 85 . the voltage at a pin vl , which is connected through a resistor 189 to junction 181 , reflects somewhat the averaging voltage of lamp 85 . the current flowing out of a crect pin into ground through a parallel combination of a resistor 195 , a capacitor 192 , and a series circuit of a resistor 935 and a capacitor 940 , reflects the average power of lamp 85 ( i . e . the product of lamp current and lamp voltage ). a control circuit 198 changes the total resistance from crect pin to ground for dimming control . capacitor 192 serves to provide a filtered d . c . voltage across resistor 195 . a resistor 156 is connected between a pin rref and ground and serves to set the reference current within ic 109 . a capacitor 159 , which is connected between a cf pin and ground , sets the frequency of a current controlled oscillator ( cco ). a capacitor 165 , which is connected between a cp pin and ground , is employed for timing of the nonoscillating / standby mode . a gnd pin is connected directly to bus 50 ( common ). a pair of pins g1 and g2 are connected directly to gates g1 and g2 of switches 100 and 112 , respectively . a pin s1 , which is connected directly to junction 110 , represents the voltage at the source of switch 100 . a pin fvdd is connected to junction 110 through a capacitor 138 and represents the floating supply for ic 109 . a capacitor 213 is connected between the dim pin and ground . the voltage applied to the dim pin reflects the maximum level of illumination as set by dim control circuit 198 . operation of the inverter and drive control circuit 65 is as follows . initially ( i . e . during startup ), as capacitor 106 is charged from the linear regulator output 807 , switches 100 and 112 are in nonconducting and conducting states , respectively . the input current flowing into pin vdd of ic 109 is maintained at a low level ( less than 500 microamperes ) during this startup phase . capacitor 138 , which is connected between pin 51 and pin fvdd , charges to a relatively constant voltage equal to approximately the voltage at pin vdd and serves as the voltage supply for the drive circuit of switch 100 . when the voltage across cap 106 exceeds a voltage turnon threshold ( e . g . 8 volts ), ic 109 enters its operating ( oscillating / switching ) state with switches 100 and 112 each switching back and forth between their conducting and nonconducting states at a frequency well above the resonant frequency determined by inductor 75 , leakage inductor 83 and all parasitic capacitors 80 and 81 . junction 110 varies between about 0 volts and the voltage applied to terminal 61 depending on the switching states of switches 100 and 112 . capacitor 115 serves to slow down the rate of rise and fall of the voltage at junction 110 thereby reducing switching losses and the level of emi generated by the switching stage of the inverter . a relatively large operating current of , for example , 10 - 15 milliamps supplied to pin vdd of ic 109 results . capacitor 126 serves to block the d . c . voltage component from being applied to transformer 910 . the initial operating frequency of ic 109 , which is about 150 khz , is set by resistor 156 and capacitor 159 and the reverse diode conducting times of switches 100 and 112 . ic 109 starts sweeping down its switching frequency at a rate set internal to ic 109 toward an unloaded resonant frequency ( i . e . resonant frequency of inductor 75 and capacitor 80 prior to ignition of lamp 85 -- e . g . 60 khz ). as the switching frequency approaches the resonant frequency , the voltage across lamp 85 rises rapidly and is generally sufficient to ignite lamp 85 . once lamp 85 is lit , the current flowing therethrough rises from a few nano - amps to several milliamps . the current flowing through resistor 153 , which is equal to the lamp current , is sensed at pins li1 and li2 based on the current differential therebetween as proportioned by resistors 168 and 171 , respectively . the voltage of lamp 85 , which is scaled by the turns ratio of the transformer 910 , is detected by diode 180 , resistors 930 , and capacitor 183 resulting in a d . c . voltage , proportional to the averaging lamp voltage , at junction 181 . the voltage at junction 181 is converted into a current by resistor 189 flowing into pin vl . the current flowing into pin vl is multiplied inside ic 109 with the differential currents between pins li1 and li2 resulting in a rectified a . c . current fed out of pin crect into the parallel combination of capacitor 192 , resistor 195 , and , the series circuit of resistor 935 and capacitor 940 . capacitor 192 and resistor 195 convert the a . c . rectified current into a d . c . voltage . the voltage at the crect pin is forced equal to the voltage at the dim pin by a feedback circuit / loop contained within ic 109 . regulation of power consumed by lamp 85 results . a more detailed description regarding the circuitry and operation of ic 109 can be found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 680 , 017 , issued oct . 21 , 1997 , and which is incorporated herein by reference thereto . fig3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention . those components in fig1 and 3 of similar construction and operation are identified by like reference numerals and will not be further discussed herein . as shown in fig3 a ballast 10 &# 39 ; includes a capacitor 126 &# 39 ; serves as both a blocking capacitor and ballasting element . the amount of power saved by eliminating the ballasting element in fig1 is not achieved by the ballast of fig3 . nevertheless , by placing capacitor 126 &# 39 ; on the primary side of transformer 910 rather than on its secondary side less power is consumed than in a conventional ballast . the size and power loss of step - up transformer 910 is reduced . unlike ballast 10 of fig1 a discrete resonant capacitor 80 &# 39 ; is required as part of the resonant circuit . ballasting capacitor 126 &# 39 ; and resonant capacitor 80 &# 39 ; together provide dc voltage blocking . unlike conventional ballasts , however , no additional dc blocking capacitor on the secondary of transformer 910 is required . the power loss associated with the equivalent series resistance ( esr ) of an additional blocking capacitor is eliminated . a low - voltage , low - esr capacitor can be used for ballasting capacitor 126 &# 39 ;. ballast 10 &# 39 ;, as compared to conventional ballasts , has a reduced parts count and cost and consumes less power . in ballast 10 , the sensing circuit for monitoring the current flowing through inductor 75 is formed by winding 950 , resistor 900 and capacitor 905 . the voltage at junction 179 of ballast 10 represents the current through resonant inductor 75 . in ballast 10 &# 39 ;, the sensing circuit for monitoring the current flowing through inductor 75 is formed by a single resistor 162 . similar to ballast 10 , the voltage at junction 179 &# 39 ; represents the current through the resonant inductor 75 . it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above and those made apparent from the preceding description , are efficiently attained and since certain changes can be made in the above construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .

7Electricity

fig1 depicts a preferred embodiment high pressure , manually - operable air pump of the present invention , indicated generally at 10 , in a preferred mounting on a bicycle , a portion of which is depicted and indicated generally at 12 . the air pump 10 of the present invention is used as the seat post coupling the seat 14 , to the bike frame , indicated generally at 16 . a lower end of the pump 10 is received in the seat tube 26 of the frame 12 and is clamped in the frame 12 with the collar 28 provided at the mouth of the seat tube 26 . the upper end of the pump 10 is received and clamped in the seat post collar 30 ( sectioned in fig1 ) of the seat 14 . referring to fig2 where the preferred air pump 10 is shown separated from the bicycle 12 , the pump 10 includes a first elongated tube 18 and a second elongated tube 20 , shorter than and coaxial with the first tube 18 . the first tube 18 has an outer diameter sufficient to permit that tube to be removably received in the seat tube 26 of the frame 16 and clamped to the frame by a collar 28 ( see fig1 ) of the seat tube 26 . preferably , the outer diameter of the first tube is between about seven - eighths and one inch . the first tube 18 preferably also has a length sufficient to permit adequate height adjustment of the seat 14 . preferably , the first tube length is at least about twelve inches . the second elongated tube 20 has an outer diameter preferably less than the outer diameter of the first tube 18 and sufficient to permit that tube to be removably received and clamped in the seat post collar 30 of seat 14 ( also fig1 ), preferably an outer diameter between about seven and eight - tenths of an inch . the second tube 20 need only be sufficiently long to permit it to be received in the seat post collar 30 . the second tube 20 thus has a length shorter than the first tube length desirably less than about three inches and preferably about two and one - half inches or less . means , indicated generally at 32 , are provided for fixedly securing together , and , preferably , for releasably , immovably securing together the first and second elongated tubes 18 and 20 . fixedly securing in this instance means without relative translational or rotational movement of the elongated tube tubes 18 and 20 with respect to one another . preferably , means 32 comprises a first mating member , preferably in the form of a first elongated planar flange 34 , which protrudes radially outwardly from an end ( the upper end in the figures ) of the first tube 18 . means 32 preferably further comprises a second mating member , preferably in the form of a second , identically elongated planar flange 36 protruding radially outwardly at an end ( lower end in the figures ) of the second tube 20 proximal the first tube 18 . the planar flanges are parallel to one another to permit their joining together . preferably , each of the first and second flanges 34 and 36 is fixedly secured to the first and second tubes 18 and 20 , respectively , by suitable , conventional means such as brazing or , preferably , welding 68 ( see fig3 ). a first , removable fastener 40 , a flexible support 41 ( flexibly coupling the first fastener 40 with the first elongated tube 18 ), a second fixed fastener 42 and a flexible hose 44 having at its exposed end 48 an air valve coupling 50 are further depicted in fig2 . as is shown in fig1 the pump 10 is preferably positioned with the first fastener 40 towards a front side of the seat 14 to fit into the space provided above the cross tube 27 of the frame 16 and the front side of the seat tube collar 28 . the internal construction of the pump 10 is revealed in fig3 and 4 . the first elongated tube 18 constitutes a housing of the pump and defines a cylindrical pump chamber 52 therein having a closed end 54 . a piston assembly , indicated generally at 56 , is provided and includes a piston 58 within the chamber 52 , a connecting arm 60 having a first end 62 coupled with the piston 58 and an opposing second end 64 , and an air passage , indicated generally at 66 , extending generally axially through the piston 58 . the passage preferably continues through the connecting arm 60 . the second end 64 of the connecting arm 60 is fixedly coupled with the second flange member 36 by suitable means such as mutually engaging threading . the second flange member 36 in turn fixedly supports the second elongated tube 20 which is secured to the second flange member 36 by suitable means such as the welds 68 . each of the second flange member 36 and the attached second elongated tube 20 provides a means for gripping the connecting arm 60 and manually reciprocating the piston 58 in the chamber 52 . fig3 and 4 further depict a first , one - way valve means , indicated generally at 70 , on the piston 58 and a second , one - way valve means , indicated generally at 88 , along the air passage 66 . referring to fig3 the first valve means 70 preferably comprises an annular valve member 72 , preferably an elastic 0 - ring , and a first groove 74 . the first groove 74 extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the piston 58 and receives the annular valve member 72 . preferably , the first groove 74 has an axial dimension which is greater than the maximum axial dimension of the annular valve member 72 , to permit axial movement of the valve member 72 along the groove 74 . as also can be seen in fig3 and 4 , the piston 58 preferably is fabricated from first and second annular components 76 and 78 , respectively , which are attached by suitable means , such as threading , to the first end 62 of the connecting arm 64 . the first annular component 76 has one end of reduced diameter and forms the bottom and one side of the first groove 74 . the second annular component 78 preferably includes a beveled , generally frustoconical , circumferential surface 82 ( best seen in fig4 ) adjoining and facing the reduced diameter end of the first component 76 . the beveled surface 82 forms a seat for the annular valve member 72 . surface 82 is located at an end of the groove 74 which is distal to the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 . opposing grooves 84 are provided axially along the circumferential surface of the first annular component 76 . these grooves 84 define a portion of the circumferential groove 74 which is configured to permit air to pass between the annular valve member 72 and the piston 58 when the valve member 72 is located as shown in fig4 over that portion of the circumferential groove 74 containing the axial extending grooves 84 . preferably , a first end 46 of the flexible hose 44 is passed through the length of the connecting arm 60 and fixedly coupled to the first end 62 of the connecting arm 60 by means of an annular insert 86 which is received in the extreme end of the hose 44 clamping that end between the insert 86 and the inner circumferential surface of the connecting arm 60 . preferably , the outer cylindrical surface of the insert 86 which is received in the extreme end of the hose 44 is finished , for example by the provisions of threading or serrations , to better grip the first end 46 of the hose 44 . in this way , the first end 46 of the hose 44 is fixedly coupled with the piston assembly 56 and the second tube 20 and pneumatically coupled with the air passage 66 in the piston 58 . referring to fig4 the insert 86 forms one seat of the second , one - way valve means 88 located along the air passage 66 . the remainder of the second valve means 88 is preferably provided by an interior chamber 90 , which is formed in the first annular component 76 , an elastic o - ring 92 , which forms an opposing seat of the valve means 88 , and a valve member in the form of a sphere 94 . fig3 further depicts details of the preferred means 32 for fixedly securing the first and second elongated tubes together . the preferred means 32 includes , in addition to the first and second flanges 34 and 36 and the first and second fasteners 40 and 42 , an unthreaded bore 96 through the first flange member 34 and a threaded bore 98 through the second flange member 36 . the threaded bore 98 is alignable with the unthreaded bore 96 for receiving a threaded portion 40a of the fastener 40 extending through the unthreaded bore 96 , for fixedly securing together the mated first and second flange members 34 and 36 in a removable fashion . the second fastener 42 preferably is a rivet extending fixedly through the first flange 34 on a side of the tubes 18 and 20 diametrically opposed to the first fastener 40 and bores 96 and 98 . a portion of the rivet 42 , protruding axially from the first flange 34 towards the second flange 36 , is received in a cut - out 36a , which is exposed on a side of the second flange 36 , when the flanges 36 and 38 rotate to align the bores 96 and 98 . head portion 42a at the rivet 42 and the first flange 36 prevent relative axial movement of the second flange 38 , thereby securing the tubes 18 and 20 together . the first and second fasteners 40 and 42 on opposing sides of the tubes 18 and 20 prevent bending of the pump at the flanges 36 and 38 . lastly , an open end of the first elongated tube 18 , opposite closed end 54 , can be at least partially closed , for example by a third annular component 100 , which includes a central bore 102 to permit extension of the second end 64 of the connecting arm 60 from the first elongated tube 18 , and one or more additional bores , such as bore 104 which permits the free passage of air into and out of the first elongated tube 18 . the component 100 prevents debris from entering the first tube 18 . it may provide some support and guidance to the connecting arm 60 but the preferred construction of the piston assembly 56 is such that the assembly 56 maintains itself coaxial in the tube 18 . fig5 depicts diagrammatically a preferred configuration for the air valve connector 50 , also seen in fig2 . the connector 50 is mounted at a second end 48 of the flexible hose 44 and includes a central tubular member 106 one end of which has a conically tapered outer surface 108 which is inserted into the end 48 of hose 44 . a fastening member 112 is clamped over the end 48 and one end of central member 106 fastening the connector 50 to the hose 44 . a threaded collar 114 is rotatably supported at the remaining end of the central tubular member 106 . the threaded collar 114 is sized to be received by a conventional air valve stem for coupling the flexible hose 44 to the stem . an annular sealing gasket 118 , such as an o - ring , is preferably provided . it is specifically noted that unlike most conventional air valve connectors , the preferred connector 50 of the present invention lacks a central stalk or other solid structure for depressing the air valve in the valve stem ( neither depicted ). as will be subsequently explained in further detail , this is because the pump 10 of the present invention is capable of compressing air to a sufficiently high pressure to force depression of an air valve in a stem without physically contacting that valve . use and operation of the pump 10 will now be described with respect to the various figures . as shown in fig1 the pump 10 can be constructed of suitable material with suitable dimensions , for example , about 1018 to 1027 mild steel seamless tubing , preferably mandrel drawn , with about a 50 mil wall thickness , as the elongated tubes 18 and 20 , so as to permit use of the pump 10 as the seat post for supporting a conventionally constructed bicycle seat 14 on a conventionally constructed bike frame 16 . the pump 10 may be originally installed or subsequently installed as a replacement for a conventional seat post . the pump 10 may be used by removing the flexible hose 44 from the storage bag 15 ( fig1 ), if provided , and the air valve connector 50 attached to a conventional threaded air valve stem like that which is provided with tires , tubes or the like . the fastener 40 is unscrewed from the second flange 36 and the tubes 18 lo and 20 rotated to free rivet 42 from flange 36 to separate first and second tubes 18 and 20 . the second tube 20 , still fixedly secured to the seat 14 , may be raised and lowered by raising and lowering the seat 14 while the pump is still mounted on the bicycle 12 to reciprocate the piston 58 along the chamber 52 . after use , rivet 42 and cutout 36a may be engaged and the threaded portion 40a of fastener 40 may again be passed through unthreaded opening 96 into the threaded bore 98 for securing the first and second tubes 18 and 20 together . the air valve connector 50 may be removed from the valve stem and the flexible hose 44 returned to the storage bag 15 , if provided . of course , the pump 10 may be used as a conventional hand - operated air pump when not mounted in a bicycle . it may be installed as a seat post in and subsequently removed from any number of conventional bicycles , without alterations to either the bicycles or their seats , making the pump 10 extremely versatile . fig3 and 4 depict in detail the operation of the first and second valve means 70 and 88 , which provide the pump 10 of the present invention with certain unique capabilities . fig3 depicts the positions of the first and second valve means 70 and 88 during a compression stroke when the piston assembly 56 is being moved in a first axial direction ( down in the figure ) into the first tube 18 and towards the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 . fig4 depicts the configuration of the two valve means 70 and 88 during a reciprocal , refill stroke when the piston 58 is being moved in a second , opposing axial direction away from the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 . referring first to fig3 during the compression stroke , air is compressed by the piston 58 in the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 by the first valve means 70 . in particular , the o - ring valve member 72 tends to drag slightly on the inner wall of chamber 52 during movement of the piston 58 towards the closed end 54 , seating on the beveled valve seat ( 82 in fig4 ). the o - ring 72 , being elastically deformable , expands further into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 when that valve member 72 is seated against the valve seat 82 by the compressed air trapped in the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 to further seal the annular gap 120 which exists between the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 and the outer circumferential surface of the piston 58 . in this regard , the beveled valve seat 82 used in connection with the elastic o - ring 72 is a very important feature of the invention . as the pressure of the air being compressed by the piston 58 builds up in the closed end 54 , the o - ring 72 is pressed increasingly harder onto the tapered valve seat 82 and into the narrowing gap formed between the beveled surface of the seat 82 and the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 , thereby expanding the o - ring 72 into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 and increasing the sealing effect . this particular configuration permits the preferred pump 10 to compress air to pressures of up to at least about two hundred psi . the major limitation to maximum air compression of the pump 10 is not the operation of the pump but rather the ability of the user to apply sufficient force to the piston assembly 56 to further compress the air . preferably , a single , first tube 18 defines both a housing and the cylindrical pump chamber contained therein . however , since the optimum outer diameter of the first tube 18 must be sufficiently large to permit that tube 18 to be clamped within a seat tube collar 28 of conventional construction , the diameter of the cylindrical chamber may be reduced , thereby reducing the cross - sectional area of the chamber 52 and total force which must be applied to the piston assembly 56 to achieve a given compression , for example by the use of the second elongated tube ( not depicted ) within the first elongated tube 18 to reduce the diameter of the cylindrical pump chamber 52 . during the compression stroke , the valve member sphere ( 94 in fig4 ) of the second valve means 88 is eventually forced from the surface of the o - ring ( 92 in fig4 ) when the pressure of the air being compressed at the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 exceeds the pressure of the air in the air passage 66 , thereby permitting compressed air to pass from the chamber 52 into the air passage 66 . referring to fig4 during the reciprocal or refill stroke , the piston 58 is moved in a second , opposing axial direction ( up in the figure ) away from the closed end 54 . friction between the o - ring valve member 72 and the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 causes the member 72 to move away from the beveled seat 82 and over the axially extending grooves 84 , thereby permitting air , which enters the first tube 18 through the additional bore 104 of the third annular component 100 , to pass between the piston 58 and the o - ring 72 and enter the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 . at the same time , the compressed air in the air passage 66 and / or any partial vacuum created at the closed end 54 of the chamber 52 cause the sphere 94 of the second valve means 88 to be received in the seat provided by o - ring 92 thereby preventing air from passing through the air passage 66 into the chamber 52 . although an elastic o - ring is preferred as the annular valve member 72 of the first valve means 70 , it would be possible , though less desirable , to provide a substantially inelastic annular valve member , for example one of ptfe or nylon , and an at least resiliently and , preferably , elastically deformable , beveled valve seat 82 which is outwardly expanded into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 52 when the valve member 72 is seated against the valve seat 82 by compressed air in the chamber 52 for sealing the annular gap 120 seen in fig3 . similarly , although a frustoconical beveled surface is preferred for the valve seat 82 , other sloping surface configurations may be employed . while the disclosed pump is eminently suitable for manual operation and for use as the seat post of a bicycle , the pump 10 may be modified for automatic , mechanical reciprocation and may be modified to pump other fluids , namely liquids . from the foregoing description , it can be seen that the present invention provides a unique , versatile , and manually operable pump , which can be configured as a bicycle air pump possessing significant advantages over conventional bicycle air pumps . while various modifications have been described and / or suggested , one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes could be made to the above - described embodiment of the invention without departing from the broad inventive concepts thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment ( s ) disclosed , but is intended to cover any modifications which are within the scope and spirit of the invention , as defined by the appended claims .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

fig2 is a block diagram of a memory system 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the memory system 200 includes a master device 210 ( e . g ., a memory controller ) coupled to a plurality of memory devices 260 a – 260 i via a communication path formed by a primary channel 215 and stick channels 275 a – 275 d . in one embodiment , the master device , transceivers and memory devices transmit signals on the communication path through current - mode signaling . that is , each conductor in a given channel 275 a – 275 d is pulled up to a predetermined voltage level through a termination impedance and may be driven to at least one lower voltage level by sinking an appropriate amount of current . although the termination impedances are depicted in fig2 as being coupled to the ends of the channels 275 a – 275 d , the termination impedances may alternatively be placed at any point along their respective channels , including within the master device 210 , or within a transceiver or memory device coupled to the channel . in an alternative embodiment , voltage mode signaling may be used in which the master device , transceivers and memory devices output digital voltage levels to the bus to effect digital signaling . in voltage mode embodiments , the bus may be allowed to float or the bus may be pulled up or down through termination impedances . in the embodiment of fig2 , a clock generator 230 generates a clock signal 240 called clock - to - master ( ctm ) that propagates toward master device 210 . a second clock signal 250 , preferably having the same frequency as ctm 240 , propagates away from the master device 210 and is called clock - from - master ( cfm ). ctm 240 is used to clock the transmission of information to master device 210 on the primary channel 215 , while cfm 250 is used to clock transmission of information from the master device 210 to memory device 260 a and transceivers 220 a and 220 b . together ctm and cfm provide for source synchronous transmission of data ( i . e ., data travels with clock ) in both directions on the primary channel 215 . in one embodiment , ctm 240 and cfm 250 are the same signal , with the conductors that carry cfm 250 and ctm 240 being coupled to one another at or near the master device 210 ( e . g ., within the master device 210 , at a pin of the master device 210 or at another point just outside the master device 210 ). in alternative embodiments , clock signals ctm 240 and cfm 250 may be separately generated . for example , master device 210 may include a clock generator circuit that generates cfm 250 in a predetermined phase relationship to ctm 240 . regardless of whether ctm 240 and cfm 250 are the same signal or separately generated , ctm 240 and cfm 250 will have a different phase relationship at different points along the primary channel due to the fact that they are traveling in different directions . for example , if cfm and ctm are in phase at master device 210 , then at transceiver 220 b , they will be out of phase by the amount of time it takes for ctm 240 to travel from the transceiver 220 b to the master 210 plus the time it takes for cfm 250 to travel from the master 210 to the transceiver 220 b . this phase difference between ctm and cfm , referred to herein as t tr , is different at each point along the primary channel . each of transceivers 220 a – 220 c serves as a bi - directional repeater between a host channel ( i . e ., a channel used to deliver signals from the master device 210 ) and at least one stick channel . more specifically , transceiver 220 b serves as a bi - directional repeater between host channel 215 ( the primary channel ) and stick channel 275 c ; transceiver 220 c serves as a bi - directional repeater between host channel 275 c and stick channel 275 d ; and transceiver 220 a serves as a bi - directional repeater between host channel 215 and each of stick channels 275 a and 275 b . in one embodiment , each of the transceivers 220 a – 220 d provides regenerative gain and drive capability and resynchronizes signal transmissions between the clock domain of the host channel and the stick channel . it should be noted that the channel topology depicted in fig2 is merely an example — numerous alternative channel topologies may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . by using transceivers 220 a – 220 d to segment the overall communication path into multiple segments , the resistive and capacitive loading of any given length of the communication path may be kept below a tolerable threshold . this permits the communication path to be extended to support more memory devices without unacceptable loss of signal margin due to resistive or capacitive loading . although each of transceivers 220 a – 220 c is shown in fig2 as supporting one or two stick channels , a given transceiver may support any number of stick channels up to a practical limit . also , though the primary channel 215 and stick channels 275 a – 275 d are each shown as supporting one or two memory devices , more memory devices may be supported by the channel segments in alternate embodiments . similarly , any number of transceivers up to a practical limit may be hosted by a given channel segment . in one embodiment , each of the transceivers uses the clock signals that correspond to its host channel to generate one or more clock signals for the stick channel ( or channels ) that it serves . for example , transceiver 220 b generates a clock signal “ clock - to - end ” ( cte ) 270 c based on clock signals ctm 240 and cfm 250 . cte 270 c is folded back at the end of stick channel 275 c to provide clock signal “ clock - to - transceiver ” ( ctt ) 280 c , which in turn is used to generate clock signal “ clock - from - transceiver ( cft ) 290 c . similarly , transceiver 220 c generates clock signals cte 270 d , ctt 280 d and cft 290 d based on clock signals ctt 280 c and cft 290 c , and transceiver 220 a generates clock signals cte 270 a , ctt 280 a , cft 290 a , cte 270 b , ctt 280 b and cft 290 b from clock signals ctm 240 and cfm 250 . the relationship between ctm 240 and cfm 250 described above applies to the clock signals ctt and cft generated for each stick channel . for example , in the embodiment of fig2 , ctt and cft for a given stick channel are the same signal , with their respective conductors being coupled together at or near the transceiver for the stick channel ( e . g ., within the transceiver , at a pin of the transceiver or at another point just outside the transceiver ). in alternative embodiments , ctt and cft may be separately generated . for example , a given transceiver may include a clock generator circuit that generates cft in a predetermined phase relationship to ctt . regardless of whether ctt and cft are the same signal or separately generated , ctt and cft will have a different phase relationship at different points along the stick channel they serve . this phase difference between ctt and cft for a given stick channel is analogous to the phase difference , t tr , between ctm 240 and cfm 250 discussed above , and is referred to herein as t - stick tr . as discussed below , transceivers 220 a – 220 d perform a latency alignment function by adjusting the transfer latency from host channel to stick channel according to the phase difference between the host channel &# 39 ; s clocks ( i . e ., t tr when the host channel is the primary channel 215 and t - stick tr when the host channel is a stick channel ). in one embodiment , the cft and ctt clocks on stick channels ( stick clocks ) are synchronized to ctm 240 on the primary channel 215 . requests / commands from the master device 210 are received with cfm and resynchronized to cft for retransmission on the stick channel . this timing relationship is discussed below in further detail . fig3 a is a timing diagram of a data transfer operation in the memory system 200 of fig2 . more specifically , fig3 a illustrates the timing of a data transfer from memory device 260 g to master device 210 . data c is available on stick channel 275 c at the falling edge of stickclk 330 . in the embodiment shown , txclk 320 is the equivalent of ctm 240 and stickclk 330 is 180 degrees out of phase with txclk 320 . data c is transferred onto the primary channel 215 at the second falling edge of txclk 320 at time t 2 . the overall propagation delay from the primary channel 215 to the stick channel 275 ( i . e ., the latency incurred crossing transceiver 220 b ) is t lat ( sp ) . in the embodiment shown , t lat ( sp ) is 1 . 5 clock cycles in duration . fig3 b illustrates the timing of a data transfer in the opposite direction — from master device 210 to memory device 260 g . the primary channel 215 has data a on it at a first time , at a falling edge of rxclk 310 . for one embodiment , rxclk 310 is equivalent to cfm 250 . cfm 250 lags ctm 240 by time t tr so that rxclk 310 lags txclk 320 by time t tr . as discussed above , time t tr is twice the time of flight down the bus , which is the difference in phase between ctm and cfm at the pin of the slave device ( transceiver ). generally period t tr should be less than one cycle ( e . g . 0 . 8 t cycle ), otherwise the timing relationship may be confusing ( i . e . 2 . 2 cycles looks just like 0 . 2 cycles ). in alternative embodiments , circuitry for tracking multiple cycles may be used so that t tr need not be limited to less than a clock cycle . at the falling edge of rxclk 310 , data a is available to the transceiver . for one embodiment , transceiver latches data a at this time . the data a is available on the stick channel 275 c on the falling edge f of stick clock 330 , after the rising edge 2 r . the overall propagation delay from the primary channel 215 to the stick channel 275 c is t lat ( ps ) . fig3 c is a timing diagram of a data transfer from the master device 210 to the memory device 260 g when t tr is relatively large ( e . g ., 0 . 8 tcycle ). as shown , data b is available on primary channel 215 at a falling edge of rxclk 310 and then on the stick channel 275 c at time t 2 , the first falling edge after the second rising edge 2 r of stickclk 330 . the overall propagation delay from the primary channel 215 to the stick channel 275 is t lat ( ps ) . referring to fig3 b and 3c , it can be seen that the transfer latency from primary channel to stick channel ( t lat ( ps ) ) is dependent upon the time t tr . more specifically , t lat ( ps ) is given by a predetermined number of clock cycles less the round trip time on the channel between the transceiver and the master device , t tr . in an embodiment having the timing characteristic shown in fig3 b and 3c , the latency incurred crossing the transceiver in the direction of the stick channel may be expressed mathematically as t lat ( ps ) = 2 . 5 cycles − t tr . accordingly , when t tr is larger , t lat ( ps ) is smaller ( compare fig3 b and 3c ). thus , the transceiver 220 b effectively adjusts the time delay to repeat signals from the primary channel 215 on the stick channel 275 c to compensate for the flight time down the primary channel in each direction . the result of this compensation is that the roundtrip latency between the master device and a stick channel ( not counting t - stick tr or the latency required for the target memory device to respond ) is aligned to a clock cycle boundary . said another way , the round - trip latency between the master device and a stick channel is independent of the distance on the primary channel between the transceiver and the master device 210 . fig4 illustrates the response latency of a memory transaction in greater detail . as shown , the overall response latency perceived by the master device is made up of the following latencies : note that , because the time to cross the transceiver 220 from primary channel 215 to stick channel 275 is compensated to account for the round trip flight time on the primary channel ( t tr ), the primary channel flight time does not appear in the expression for total latency . more specifically , the round - trip latency between the master device 210 and the stick channel 275 ( i . e ., node n ) is equal to x + y cycles . by selecting x and y to add to a whole number of clock cycles , the round - trip latency between the master device 210 and the stick channel 275 is effectively aligned with a clock for the primary channel ( ctm 240 in the embodiment of fig2 ). that is , the round - trip time from the master device 210 to a given stick channel is aligned on a clock cycle boundary . as discussed below , this latency alignment simplifies timing in the memory system significantly , allowing more efficient bandwidth utilization on the primary channel and stick channels than is achieved with the above - described prior art techniques . referring to fig2 , for example , by choosing x to be 2 . 5 clock cycles and y to be 1 . 5 clock cycles ( the timing shown in fig3 a and 3b ), the roundtrip latency between master device 210 and any one of stick channels 275 a , 275 b and 275 c is aligned with every fourth clock cycle of ctm 240 . consequently , the master device 210 may use the four clock cycles which follow a transmission to any of memory devices 260 b – 260 i to transmit or receive other information on the primary channel 215 . fig5 illustrates the scaleability of the above - described latency alignment technique and the manner in which programmable latency registers may be used in conjunction with latency - aligning transceivers to establish a flat response latency over an entire memory system . memory system 700 includes a number of transceivers ( t 1 – t 5 ) that each serve as bi - directional repeaters for respective stick channels ( 775 a – 775 e ). transceivers t 1 , t 3 and t 5 are each coupled to the primary channel 715 and include latency alignment circuitry that aligns the round - trip latency between the master device and stick channels 775 a , 775 c and 775 e , respectively , to an integer number of clock cycles , n . transceivers t 2 and t 4 are hosted by stick channels 775 a and 775 c , respectively , and include latency alignment circuitry that aligns the round - trip latency between the respective masters ( t 1 and t 3 ) for their host channels and stick channels 775 b and 775 d to the integer number of clock cycles , n . in one embodiment , n is equal to four so that the round - trip latency between master device 210 and stick channel 775 a is four clock cycles and the round - trip latency between master device 210 and stick channel 775 b is eight clock cycles . more generally , the latency from the master device 210 to a given stick channel is m × n , where m is the number of transceivers that must be crossed to reach the stick channel , and n is the latency - aligned , round - trip time from a master of a given host channel to a stick channel that is coupled to the host channel through a single transceiver . note that no matter how many transceivers must be crossed in the memory system of fig5 , the overall round - trip time between master device 210 and any stick channel in the memory system is aligned with the transmit clock of master device 210 ( e . g ., cfm 250 in fig2 ). this enables construction of memory systems having large numbers of memory devices (“ mem ” in fig5 ) without loss of determinism in system timing . the intervals between command and response transmissions are well defined and may therefore be used for command and response pipelining . another benefit of the above - described latency - aligning tranceivers is that they may be used in conjunction with programmable - latency memory devices to provide a memory system with flat latency response . that is , the response latency of all memory devices may be made substantially equal , regardless of their proximity to the master device 210 . referring to fig5 , for example , memory devices hosted by stick channels 775 a , 775 c and 775 e may be programmed to delay their outputs by four clock cycles so that the overall response latency for all memory devices in the memory system is substantially equal ( with sub - clock cycle variance due to relative positions of memory devices on their stick channels ). expressed analytically , the total response delay perceived by the master device 210 is : where t dev — prog is the number of additional cycles of delay programmed within a given memory device , m is the number of transceivers that must be crossed to reach the stick channel that hosts the target memory device , and n is the latency - aligned , round - trip time from a master of a host channel to a stick channel coupled to the host channel through a single transceiver . thus , to provide a flat response latency throughout the memory system , the delay time ( t dev — prog ) for each memory device in the memory system may be set as follows : in this way , the total response latency will be substantially the same for each memory device in the memory system , regardless of the number of memory devices or stick channels in the memory system . fig6 is a block diagram of a transceiver according to one embodiment . the transceiver 220 receives the ctm 240 and cfm 250 clock signals from the master device . the transceiver 220 further receives host channel 410 . host channel 410 transmits address and data information from the master device to the transceiver 220 . for one embodiment , host channel 410 is a parallel bus , having multiple conductors . for another embodiment , host channel 410 is a serial communication path . for another embodiment , host channel 410 may include multiple buses , such as an address bus and a separate data bus , or even multiple control paths . the transceiver 220 acts as a slave device toward the master device 210 and includes a slave interface 420 to receive data and control signals from the master device via host channel 410 . to the master device , the transceiver 220 appears to be a memory device . requests from the master device arrive at the transceiver in the cfm 250 timing domain , and responses are sent back to the master in the ctm 240 timing domain . the master device 210 does not need to be modified to interact with the transceiver . on the stick channel 490 , the transceiver 220 functions as a master device , providing a master interface 430 to retransmit the requests / commands from the master device to the memory devices ( or transceivers ) coupled to stick channel 490 , and to forward responses from the memory devices to the master device via the slave interface 420 and host channel 410 . the memory devices perceive no difference in system operation resulting from the presence of transceiver 220 and therefore require no design modification . the transceiver 220 provides the clock - from - transceiver ( cft ) 290 and clock - to - transceiver ( ctt ) 280 signals to the memory devices and transceivers coupled to channel 490 . in one embodiment , cte 270 is routed to the end of the stick channel where it is folded back to provide ctt 280 . as discussed above , ctt 280 is folded back away from the transceiver 220 to provide cft 290 . data is transmitted to devices coupled to stick channel 490 in the cft 290 clock domain and received from devices coupled to stick channel 490 in the ctt 280 clock domain . for one embodiment , the transceiver 220 includes a stick transceiver 440 and a host transceiver 450 . the stick transceiver 440 transmits and receives data on the stick channel 490 . the host transceiver 450 transmits and receives data on the host channel 410 . the transceiver 220 further includes a first synchronizing unit 460 . the synchronizing unit 460 synchronizes data transmitted from the memory channel to the stick channel to the cft 290 . for one embodiment , the transceiver 220 may also include a second synchronizing unit 470 for synchronizing signals transmitted from the stick channel 490 to the host channel 410 with ctm 240 . for one embodiment , the second synchronizing unit 470 may be omitted if the ctt clock is synchronized with one of the clocks on the memory channel ( e . g ., in an embodiment in which the stick clocks ctt and cft are synchronized with ctm 240 ). the transceiver 220 further includes an isolation unit 480 that operates to prevent the transceiver 220 from repeating signals onto either the host channel 410 or the stick channel 490 . for one embodiment , the isolation unit 480 asserts an isolate signal 595 to force both sets of bus driver circuits into a high - impedance ( non - driving ) state . using the isolate feature , the transceiver 220 can effectively split a memory system into two partitions . in normal operation ( not isolated ), the transceiver 220 passes packets between the two partitions and the channel functions normally . when the transceiver &# 39 ; s isolation unit 480 is enabled , the two partitions become electrically isolated and , if desired , each individual section can operate independently . this may be advantageous in certain graphics applications , for example with a frame buffer and normal ( code and data ) drams sharing a single channel partitioned by a transceiver . the transceiver 220 further includes a power logic 485 for turning off the transceiver 220 when it does not need to transmit . in one embodiment , power logic 485 merely turns off the stick transceiver 440 , so that signals received via host channel 410 are not retransmitted on stick channel 490 . circuitry may be provided to interpret incoming addresses to determine whether they decode to memory devices coupled to stick channel 490 ( or downstream stick channels ). stick transceiver 440 may then be selectively enabled and disabled depending on whether memory devices coupled to stick channel 490 are being addressed . for example , if a certain amount of time passes ( or transactions detected ) without memory devices coupled to stick channel 490 being addressed , power unit 485 may disable stick transceiver 440 to save power . alternatively , transceiver 220 may power down stick transceiver 440 and other circuitry within transceiver 220 in response to a power - save command received on the host channel 410 . also , in alternative embodiments , transceiver 220 may remain fully enabled at all times and power unit 485 may be omitted altogether for one embodiment the transceiver 220 does not interpret incoming transmissions on the host channel and therefore does not respond to commands . that is , the transceiver 220 cannot be “ addressed ” by a master device ( e . g ., device 210 of fig2 ). consequently , in this embodiment the transceiver 220 does not include registers which may be read or written by a master device . in alternative embodiments , the transceiver 220 include command interpretation circuitry for parsing packetized commands or other transmissions received on the host channel . in these embodiments , the transceiver 220 may perform timing adjustments or other operations in response to commands from a master device . for example , the transceiver 220 may perform output driver calibration or other signal parameter calibration operations in response to commands from the master device . also , instead of calibration , the transceiver 220 may receive control parameters from the master device and install them in appropriate registers to provide master - specified signal adjustments ( e . g ., adjustments to slew rate , drive strength , receive and transmit timing , equalization , reference voltage adjustment , clock duty cycle correction and so forth ). moreover , as discussed above , the transceiver 220 may enter a power - saving state in response to commands received on the host channel . fig7 illustrates the synchronization and transceiver logic of a transceiver 220 according to one embodiment . the transceiver 220 receives a host channel 570 that couples the transceiver 220 to a master device along with signal lines for clock signals ctm 240 and cfm 250 . though not shown , the transceiver 220 may also include isolation circuitry and power saving circuitry as described above in reference to fig6 . the transceiver 220 also receives signal lines for clock signals cte 580 , ctt 585 and cft 590 along with a stick channel 575 that couples the transceiver 220 to memory devices and / or other transceivers . the transceiver 220 includes a phase locked loop ( pll ) 510 which performs a clock recovery function , generating a buffered output 512 in phase alignment with cfm 250 . this recovered version of cfm 250 is input to the primary receiver 515 where it is used to time reception of signals from the host channel 570 . the transceiver 220 also includes pll 525 to generate a recovered version of ctm 240 ( i . e ., buffered output 527 ) for clocking primary transmitter 520 . a pll 550 is used to generate cte 580 for the stick channel such that ctt 585 arrives at the transceiver 180 degrees out of phase with ctm 240 . this inverted version of ctm 240 is designated “ stick clock ” in fig7 . pll 545 is also used to generate a clock signal 529 that is 180 degrees out of phase with ctm 240 ( i . e ., in phase with the stick clock ) for clocking the secondary receiver 540 . the 180 degree phase offset between ctm 240 and the stick clock permits the latency between reception of signals in secondary receiver and retransmission of the signals at the primary transmitter 520 to be aligned on half - clock cycle boundaries ( e . g ., 1 . 5 clock cycles as shown in fig3 a ). because transceiver 220 receives data from the host channel 570 in response to edges of cfm 250 and then retransmits the data on the stick channel in response to edges of ctm 240 , the time required to cross the transceiver in the direction of the stick channel ( t lat ( ps ) ) is compensated by the amount of time by which cfm 250 lags ctm 240 . that is , t lat ( ps ) is equal to the number of cycles of ctm 240 that transpire during the transceiver crossing , less t tr . by contrast , data crossing the transceiver in the direction of the host channel 570 is both received and retransmitted in response to clock edges aligned with edges of ctm 240 ( stickclk being an inverted version of ctm 240 ). that is , t lat ( sp ) is equal to the number of cycles of ctm 240 consumed crossing the transceiver without compensation for t tr . this asymmetry between t lat ( ps ) and t lat ( sp ) results in a bidirectional transceiver crossing time that includes compensation for t tr , thus causing the round - trip latency between the master device and a given stick channel to be aligned to the ctm 240 clock . transceiver 220 also includes a re - timing circuit 530 that delays the data transfer between the primary receiver 515 and the secondary transmitter 535 when t tr becomes so small that half clock cycle boundary may be crossed . more specifically , re - timing circuit 530 determines the phase difference ( t tr ) between the recovered versions of ctm 240 and cfm 250 and selects between a delayed and a non - delayed path for transferring data from primary receiver 515 to secondary transmitter 535 , ensuring that the overall t lat ( ps ) is a fixed number of clock cycles less t tr . fig8 is a diagram of a transceiver that includes circuitry for preventing a latch - up condition . latch - up occurs when data received from a first channel and transmitted to the second channel is detected on the second channel , and promptly retransmitted to the first channel . this feedback latches the device into a state . portions of the transceiver have been omitted from fig8 for simplicity . only the primary receiver 515 , primary transmitter 520 , secondary transmitter 535 , secondary receiver 540 , and re - timer 530 are shown . a latch - up prevention logic 610 is placed between primary receiver 515 and primary transmitter 520 . a similar latch - up prevention logic 620 is placed between secondary transmitter 535 and secondary receiver 540 . the latch - up prevention logic 610 receives an input from the primary receiver 515 and from the secondary receiver 540 . the output of the latch - up prevention logic 610 is coupled to a disable logic ( dl ) 630 in the primary transmitter 520 . similarly , the latch - up prevention logic 620 receives an input from the secondary receiver 540 and the primary receiver 515 . the output of the latch - up prevention logic 620 is coupled to a disable logic ( dl ) 640 in the secondary transmitter 535 . pin 680 is coupled to the host channel 570 ( not shown ), while pin 690 is coupled to stick channel 575 ( not shown ). when the primary receiver 515 receives data from the host channel 570 , it sends a disable signal through node 517 to the latch - up prevention logic 610 . the latch - up prevention logic 610 sends a disable signal to the primary transmitter &# 39 ; s disable logic 630 . the disable logic 630 prevents the primary transmitter 520 from transmitting information received from the secondary transceiver 540 for a period of time . the disable signal is also sent to the disable logic ( dl ) 625 of latch - up prevention logic 620 . the disable signal turns off the latch - up prevention logic 620 . the data received by the primary receiver 515 is transmitted , through the secondary transmitter 535 to the stick channel . when the secondary receiver 540 receives the same data from the stick channel , the latch - up prevention logic 620 is already disabled , preventing the turning off of the secondary transmitter 535 . furthermore , the primary transmitter 520 is already disabled , preventing the retransmission of the data to the host channel . in this manner , the latch - up prevention logic 610 prevents the system latch up . the latch - up prevention logic 610 , 620 releases their transmitter , 520 and 535 respectively , after the entire data is transmitted by the primary receiver 515 . similarly , if data is first received on the stick channel by the secondary receiver , latch - up prevention logic 620 disables secondary transmitter 535 through disable logic 640 . the disable signal further disables latch - up prevention logic 610 through disable logic 615 . using the above - described latch - up prevention logics , the danger of latch - up is avoided . for one embodiment , the latch - up prevention logic 610 may be implemented as an and gate and an inverter , such that the output of the secondary receiver 540 is inverted , and coupled as an input to an and gate . the other input to the and gate is the logic from the primary receiver 515 . in this way , only when the output of the primary receiver 515 is on , while the output of the secondary receiver 540 is off , does the latch - up prevention logic 610 output its disable signal . although the exemplary embodiments of latency - aligning receivers and systems and methods for incorporating latency - aligning receivers have been described in terms of memory systems . it will be appreciated that the concepts and principles disclosed are not limited to memory systems , but rather may be applied in any system where it is desirable to increase the number of devices attached to a communication path without overloading the communication path or complicating system timing . more generally , though the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense .

6Physics

fig1 illustrates an image - guided surgery system with which the present invention may be employed . the system includes a surgical or medical instrument 11 , such as an endoscope , having an elongate axis 12 and tip 13 , which is used to probe an internal target site 14 of a patient 15 . a plurality of fiducials or markers 16 are placed on the patient 15 near the target site . the fiducials are used to register corresponding points on the preoperative or intraoperative 2 - d image scans of patient target site 14 . instrument 11 has a plurality of tracking elements 17 on its shaft 12 which emit signals to sensors 33 positioned in view of the instrument . both the instrument and the sensors are in communication with a tracking controller which is in communication with a computer system that processes the signals received by sensors 33 to track the movement of instrument 11 during surgery . the tracking controller may be a separate element or it may be physically integrated with the computer system and may even be embodied in an option card which is inserted into an available card slot in the computer . the computer system is also used to render and display the 2 - d preoperative or intraoperative images and render 3 - d surface or volumetric images , either of which may be perspective or orthographic , of target site 14 on a display device . various aspects of the image - guided surgery procedure , such as registration , tracking , image generation and navigation , may be implemented by a program of instructions ( e . g ., software ) in response to user input supplied by various input devices such as a keyboard , mouse , track ball or joystick . the software is executed by a processor , such as a central processing unit ( cpu ) which may be in the form of a microprocessor . other processors may also be used in conjunction with the cpu such as a graphics chip . as shown in fig1 a dynamic frame - of - reference ( dfr ) 21 is rigidly attached to a support 22 that is securely attached to the portion of patient 15 ( e . g ., head 23 ) where the surgery is to be performed . thus , when the patient &# 39 ; s head moves , support 22 and dfr 21 also move . securely attached to the dfr is a rigid elongated element 24 extending outwardly from a main surface of dfr 21 at a known angle and terminating in a tip 25 at its distal end . dfr 21 includes a plurality of sensors 35 in communication with tracking controller which is also in communication with the computer system , instrument 11 and sensors 33 to determine the location and orientation of the dfr including element 24 and its tip 25 . in accordance with one variation of the preferred embodiment of the invention , a pointer 26 has its tip 27 attached to one end of an elastic , telescopic or otherwise length - adjustable potentiometer 28 or equivalent device , the other end of which is attached to tip 25 . if pointer 26 is not attached to dfr 21 , then the pointer will include tracking elements / position sensors 26 a that are in communication with sensors 33 and the computer system to track the movement and determine the position and orientation of the pointer . the remaining figures . taken in conjunction with fig1 describe the various embodiments of the invention . fig2 illustrates a first mode of operation in accordance with embodiments of the invention . first , the user selects a target point 29 in patient target site 14 and establishes the orientation of the instrument view axis ( e . g ., the endoscope view axis ) with respect to target point 29 . next , selected preoperative or intraoperative scan data representing internal scans of the patient target site are used to construct an image of the patient target site , with respect to the orientation of the instrument , such as viewed along the view axis of the instrument . that is , the constructed image is orthogonal to the view axis of the instrument but is viewed along the axis of the instrument . the image is then displayed in various 2 - d orientations and in 3 - d on the display device for viewing by the user . fig3 illustrates a second mode of operation , in accordance with embodiments of the invention , where a view orientation with respect to a virtual target point 31 , external to the patient , is transformed to a view orientation with respect to a selected target point 29 in the patient . the virtual target point may be established at any external location that can be determined relative to the tracking system , e . g ., relative to dfr 21 . for example , virtual target point 31 can be at the tip of elongated support 24 as shown in fig1 or it can be located in free space and initially defined by the tip of pointer 26 . as illustrated in fig3 the user selects an orientation with which to view the virtual target point and the corresponding image of patient target site 14 . the view orientation of the virtual target point is defined by an imaginary line extending between a known point on the pointer , e . g ., its tip 27 and virtual target point 31 . thus , selecting the view orientation also involves selecting the location of the virtual target point , if it is not at a fixed location , e . g ., at the tip of the elongated support , as shown in fig1 . the virtual target point can be defined in free space by moving the tip of the pointer to the desired point in space and clicking a selector button on pointer 26 to establish virtual target 31 point at the tip of the pointer . the virtual target point will remain at that location even after the pointer is moved , until a new virtual target point is established by the user . the selected view orientation and virtual target point location is then input into the computer where this information is processed and stored . in particular , the computer establishes a correspondence between selected target point 29 in patient target site 14 and virtual target point 31 in “ virtual ” space , which may be accomplished , for example , using point - to - point mapping . point - to - point mapping essentially involves determining a transformation matrix that maps the coordinates of point 29 to another set of coordinates representing point 31 . a transformation is then made between the view orientation with respect to virtual target point 31 and the view orientation with respect to selected point 29 . scan data is used to construct an image of the patient target site , as viewed along the view orientation with respect to the virtual target point . the image is then displayed on the display device . fig4 and 5 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the second mode of operation , where the virtual target point is located a specified distance from a known point on the pointer 26 which is used to view the virtual target point and the corresponding image of the patient target site 14 along the axis of the pointer 26 . it should be noted that in this embodiment as well as in the other disclosed embodiments pointer 26 may be the medical instrument used at the patient target site 14 or it may be a separate instrument . the user selects a target point b in the patient target site 14 that lies on the axis of the instrument 11 at a selected distance d from a known point a on the instrument 11 and inputs this information into the computer . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 of selected point b in the patient target site are determined with respect to known point a . next , the user specifies an external virtual target point b ′ with respect to the axis of pointer 26 . this may be accomplished , for example , by clicking a selector button on pointer 26 to establish b ′ at the tip of the pointer relative to its axis . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 of b are transformed to a second set of coordinates x 1 ′, y 1 ′, z 1 ′ representing b ′ to establish correspondence between points b and b ′ in their respective spaces . a transformation is then made between the view orientation along the axis of pointer 26 with respect to point b ′ at distance d ′ and the view orientation along the axis of instrument 11 with respect to point b at distance d , where d and d ′ may or may not be equal . these transformations establish correspondence between the two view orientations , so that the view that the user sees along the axis of pointer 26 at distance d ′ is the same view as the user sees ( or would see ) along the axis of instrument 11 at distance d in the corresponding view orientation . now , as pointer 26 is moved , say , counterclockwise through an angle θ to the position shown in fig5 the user now sees patient target site 14 through point b ′ as if instrument 11 was moved that same angular distance to the position shown in a dashed line in fig5 . also , if the user were to move pointer 26 along its axis , say away from b ′ thereby increasing d ′, the user would view target site 14 as if instrument 11 was also moved along its axis away from b to increase d . the computer may maintain a constant ratio between d and d ′, or alternatively may employ other linear or nonlinear mathematical relationships between d and d ′ in correlating the view distances . scan data is used to construct images of the patient target site 14 , as viewed along the axis of the pointer 26 , with respect to b ′ , and these images are displayed on the display device . a variation on the above - described embodiment is to use a “ universal swivel ” device connecting the tip of elongated element 24 ( which in this case represents virtual target point b ′) to the tip of the pointer 26 ( point a ′ in fig5 ). the universal swivel device may be potentiometer 28 or equivalent device . here , point b ′ is at a known location and d ′ may easily be determined using the potentiometer 28 . preferably , the potentiometer is adjustable along its axis to allow the pointer to be moved in and out but keeps the axis of the pointer aligned with the axis of the potentiometer . thus , this arrangement enables pointer 26 to rotate about virtual point b ′ while maintaining co - linearity between any two points on the pointer 26 and b ′. the “ universal swivel ” may also be implemented using a joystick , or similar device . here the ball of the joystick represents virtual target point b ′ and the joystick itself represents pointer 26 . view distance d ′ is fixed and corresponds to some view distance d in the patient target site . the joystick need not be tracked using sensors but would interface with the computer as an input device so that its position can be determined . the user inputs information to the computer to establish distance d ′, a reference view orientation with respect to point b ′, and a corresponding reference joystick position . based on that information , the computer then employs an algorithm to correlate different positions of the joystick with different view orientations with respect to point b ′, which , in turn , is correlated with various view orientations of instrument 11 with respect to target point b . as the joystick is moved , the view orientation that the user sees on the display device changes . the “ universal swivel ” may also be implemented using a track ball as a computer input device . once calibrated , manipulating the track ball can be used to change the view orientation vector a ′ b ′ which is correlated to various view orientations of instrument 11 represented by vector ab . here there is no pointer 26 , and the view orientation with respect to b ′ is relative to the position of the track ball . as with the joystick , view distance d ′ is fixed and corresponds to a view distance d in the patient target site . the user inputs information to the computer to establish d ′ which is correlated with d . in another embodiment of the second mode of operation , which is more general than the first embodiment , a transformation is made between a view orientation with respect to a selected virtual target point and a view orientation with respect a selected patient target site point , where the view orientations may or may not be along the axis of the instrument / pointer . an example of this embodiment is illustrated in fig6 and 7 , where the view orientation with respect to the target point is along the axis of the instrument but the view orientation with respect to the virtual target point is not along the axis of the pointer . this is merely one example of this embodiment ; other variations are possible . referring now specifically to fig6 and 7 , the user supplies input specifying a target point b in patient target site 14 , where b is defined relative to the instrument , e . g ., b lies along the axis of the instrument 11 . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 of selected point b in the patient target site are determined with respect to the position of the instrument . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 and a distance d may be determined relative to a known point , say a , on the tip of instrument 11 . the imaginary line between b and a defines the view orientation with respect to the selected patient target site point . next , the user specifies an external virtual target point b ′ with respect to the position of pointer 26 . this may be accomplished , for example , by using a position selector on the pointer as previously described . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 are transformed to a second set of coordinates x 1 ′, y 1 ′, z 1 ′ representing b ′, and the view orientation in the “ virtual ” space is determined by the line between a ′ and b ′. a transformation is then made between the view orientation defined by vector a ′ b ′ and the view orientation defined by vector ab . thus , as the tip of pointer 26 is moved , say , counterclockwise through an angle θ , as shown in fig7 the user now sees patient target site 14 as if instrument 11 were moved that same angular distance to the position shown in dashed lines in fig7 . that is , view orientation a ′ 2 b ′ in the “ virtual ” space corresponds to view orientation a 2 b in the “ real ” space . scan data is used to construct images of the patient target site 14 , as viewed along the transformed view orientation , and these images are displayed on the display device . in another embodiment of the second mode of operation , a transformation is made between a view orientation along the axis of pointer 26 and a view orientation along the axis of instrument 11 . here , the view orientations are maintained along the axis of the instrument and the pointer respectively but not necessarily with respect to points b and b ′ when the pointer 26 is moved . an example of this embodiment is illustrated in fig8 and 9 . this is merely one example of this embodiment ; other variations are possible . referring now specifically to fig8 and 9 , the user supplies input specifying a patient target site point b along the axis of instrument 11 a specified distance d from a known point , say a , on the instrument . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 of the selected point b are determined with respect to a known point , say a , on the instrument . next , the user specifies an external virtual target point b ′ with respect to the axis of pointer 26 , as previously described with regard to the first embodiment . the coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 are transformed to a second set of coordinates x 1 , y 1 , z 1 representing b ′. a transformation is then made between the view orientation along the axis of pointer 26 and the view orientation along the axis of instrument 11 . in this embodiment , the view orientations are maintained along the axis of the respective viewing device . thus , if pointer 26 is moved laterally to the right , as shown in fig9 the view orientation remains along the axis of the pointer , and corresponds to the view orientation along the axis of instrument 11 , as if it had been moved laterally to the right the same distance , as shown in dashed line in fig9 . similarly , if pointer 26 is rotated , with or without accompanying lateral motion , the view orientation remains along the axis of the pointer , and corresponds to the view orientation along the axis of instrument 11 , as if it had been moved in the same manner . scan data is used to construct images of the patient target site 14 , as viewed along the transformed view orientation , and these images are displayed on the display device . as previously noted , various aspects of the image - guided surgery procedure , such as registration , tracking , image generation and navigation , may be implemented by a program of instructions ( i . e ., software ). various aspects of the present invention including transforming a target point in a patient target site to an external virtual target point and transforming the corresponding view orientations , which are part of the navigation step , may likewise be implemented by software . software implementing one or more of the various aspects of the present invention may be written to run with existing software used for image - guided surgery . the software for any or all of these tasks of the present invention may be fetched by the cpu from random - access memory ( ram ) for execution . the software may be stored in read - only memory ( rom ) on the computer system and transferred to ram when in use . alternatively , the software may be transferred to ram or directly to the cpu for execution from rom , or through a storage medium such as a disk drive or through an i / o device such as a modem . more broadly , the software may be conveyed by any medium that is readable by the cpu . such media may include , for example , various magnetic media such as disks or tapes , various optical media such as compact disks , as well as various communication paths throughout the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared signals , signals transmitted through a network or the internet , and carrier waves encoded to transmit the software . as an alternative to software implementation , the above - described aspects of the invention may be implemented with functionally equivalent hardware using discrete components , application specific integrated circuits ( asics ), digital signal processing circuits , or the like . such hardware may be physically integrated with the computer processor ( s ) or may be a separate device which may be embodied on a computer card that can be inserted into an available card slot in the computer . thus , the above - described aspects of the invention can be implemented using software , hardware , or combination thereof . with that in mind , it is to be understood that the flow diagrams used to illustrate the various aspects of the present invention show the performance of certain specified functions and relationships therebetween . the boundaries of these functional blocks have been defined herein for convenience of description . alternate boundaries may be defined so long as the appropriate functions are performed and the appropriate relationships therebetween are maintained . the diagrams and accompanying description provide the functional information one skilled in the art would require to implement a system to perform the functions required . each of the functions depicted in the flow diagrams may be implemented , for example , by software , functionally equivalent hardware , or a combination thereof . while embodiments of the invention have been described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description that many further alternatives , modifications and variations are possible . the invention described herein is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .

0Human Necessities

shown in fig1 is an elevated water storage facility 10 which includes an elevated water storage tank 12 supported by a pillar 14 having flutes 16 thereon . the tank occupies substantially all of the top cross - sectional area of the pillar and includes a cylindrical portion 18 , an arcuate top 20 and an arcuate bottom portion 24 . a riser 26 is also included , as is other means necessary to conduct water from the facility to users , some of whom may be located at great distances from the facility . the fluted pillar thus serves as an exterior wall of the facility . a plurality of floors 30 are included so the facility 10 is multi - purpose and also serves as usable space for offices , storage , or the like . a floor is shown in fig5 - 8 and includes a multiplicity of panels 31 - 34 and is mounted on the riser by mounting brackets , such as bracket 36 , by fasteners , such as bolts 38 , or the like . the fluting of the pillar accommodates the floor , and a floor framing system is shown in fig5 while fig6 and 7 show the intersection of a floor and the pillar with support bars , such as bar 44 , mounting the floor to the pillar at the flutes . the pillar 14 bears the load of the tank 12 and the contacts thereof . the intersection 50 of the pillar and the tank is shown in fig2 and occurs beneath the cylindrical portion of the tank . preferably , 21 / 4 inch thick cone plates 52 are mounted at a 30 ° angle on the top of the pillar 14 . th pillar wall is supported on a foundation 60 best shown in fig4 as including a spread base 62 and a wall supporting portion 64 having a sleeve 66 thereon . strengthening means 68 is also included in the foundation 60 and can be located as shown in fig4 or at other positions on that foundation . the riser 26 is supported by an octagonal foundation 70 best shown in fig3 . the foundation 70 includes a base 72 and a supporting portion 74 . the elevated storage facility 10 is further discussed in the above - referenced co - pending patent application , ser . no . 168 , 808 . shown in fig9 is an elevated storage facility 100 which includes a load bearing core 110 supporting a tank 112 thereon . the facility 100 includes water delivery means as discussed above , and a conical portion 113 connecting cylindrical portion 18 &# 39 ; to bottom portion 24 &# 39 ;. a top portion 20 &# 39 ; is also included in the tank . the core can be fluted as indicated at area 114 if so desired , and is surrounded by a wall 116 , which can be a curtain wall construction if suitable . the core 110 includes a riser 118 having an octagonal foundation 119 shown in fig1 and 13 , and can include a pillar 12 such as discussed above , and thus the tank and core of the facility 100 can be formed of the facility 10 if suitable . retrofitting can accomplish such result , and can also be used to form facility 100 from other facilities . a roof portion 120 connects the outer wall 116 to the tank top portion 20 &# 39 ;. the facility 100 also includes a plurality of floors , such as floor 122 . the pillar wall is supported on a foundation which can be similar to the foundation 60 discussed above . elevators , and the like equipment , can also be included as desired . the pillars in either facility 10 or facility 100 can be concrete , if desired . as shown in fig1 , a plurality of columns , such as column 140 , are located immediately adjacent to and interior of the exterior wall 116 . the pillar 110 ( fig9 ) is supported on foundations , such as foundation 142 shown in fig1 , and which is similar to the foundation 60 shown in fig4 . the columns 140 support floor 145 beams for the floors between the exterior wall 116 and the core 110 . preferably , there are sixteen of these columns 140 . as shown in fig9 the ground floor 146 is unenclosed with access areas 147 or the like includable as suitable . the columns 140 terminate at the first floor level radial beams , and additional support columns 150 ( shown in fig1 ) can be located immediately adjacent to and exterior of the pillar . the vertical columns 150 are supported on foundations similar to the foundation 142 shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , radial first floor beams 145 support at their exterior ends the columns 140 and are supported at their interior ends by riser 118 and approximately mid - way by the vertical columns 150 . the foundation 142 includes strengthening means 154 , as discussed above . shown in fig1 is a manhole 160 located in the interior wall 114 just beneath the tank 112 . as this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof , the present embodiment is , therefore , illustrative and not restrictive , since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them , and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are , therefore , intended to be embraced by those claims .

4Fixed Constructions

as shown in fig3 the pack separation and transfer apparatus 10 of this invention can be used to handle a continuously moving file 12 of folded sheet objects , such as paper napkins or paper towels , moving in a trough 14 . the file has a lead pack 12a of folded sheet objects that is separated from a second pack 12b of folded sheet objects by means of a flag 13a . similarly , a second pack 12b is separated from the remainder of the file by means of another flag 13b . as disclosed in the aforementioned fischer patent , each flag 13 can be formed by displacing several of the folded sheets so that the top edge of each flag sheet extends about 3 / 8 inch above the file . the purpose of the pack separation and transfer apparatus 10 is to automatically transfer the lead pack 12a of the folded sheets from the moving file 12 to a work station , shown as element 100 in fig4 e , and which for example could be a conveyor belt which would transport individual packs to a wrapping machine ( not shown ). for the sake of convenience , an element depicted in more than one figure will retain the same element number in each figure . as shown in fig1 through 3 , the pack separation and transfer apparatus 10 includes a frame consisting of side plates 18 and 19 bolted to bottom frame member 22 . also bolted respectively to side plates 18 and 19 are angle - shaped foot members 23 and 24 . as shown in fig3 the bottom of trough 14 is inclined upwardly at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal . a plate 15 is mounted between side plates 18 and 19 so that the upper surface of plate 15 acts as an extension of the bottom of trough 14 . if the width of trough 14 exceeds the width of the folded sheets by more than 1 / 4 inch , it may be desirable to mount spacers 20 , 21 on each side plate 18 , 19 whereby the leading portion of each spacer , as illustrated by elements 21a of fig1 and 3 , can be tapered so that the width of the pack separating and transfer apparatus 10 is gradually reduced . the trough extension 15 terminates in a generally l - shaped transfer pan 65 that is connected to the trough extension 15 by a hinge 74 . in the discussion that follows , various members will be connected together by means of a pin . the pin , although securing the two members together , will allow the members to rotate with respect to each other about the pin . a pin connection support member 66 is attached to the transfer pan 65 . one end of a movable link 67 is attached to support member 66 by a pin 70 . the other end of movable link 67 is attached to one end of a movable link 68 by means of a pin 71 . the other end of movable link 68 is connected to a pin support bracket 69 by means of a pin 72 . mounted on movable link 72 is a cam roller 73 . the mechanism formed by transfer pan 65 and movable links 67 and 68 are known in the art as an open four link chain . referring now to fig1 a flag pusher support member 41 is pivotally connected to the frame by means of a pin 45 . one end of a movable link 42 is connected to support member 41 by means of a pin 46 . the other end of movable link 42 is connected to one end of a movable link 43 by means of a pin 47 . the other end of movable link 43 is connected , by means of a pin 48 , to a pin connection support bracket 44 that is mounted to the side plate 19 . a cam roller 49 is mounted on movable link 43 . the flag pusher support member 41 , along with movable links 42 and 43 also form an open four link chain . a pivot support bracket 51 is attached to the flag pusher support member 41 . referring now to fig4 b and 4c , the pivot support bracket 51 has mounted therein a flag sensor pivot 54 about which a flag sensor 53 can rotate . the flag sensor 53 includes as an integral part thereof an arm 55 which also rotates about pivot point 54 . mounted on arm 55 is a magnet 56 . mounted on the flag pusher support member 51 is a reed switch 57 that is controlled by magnet 56 . also mounted within the pivot support bracket 51 is a pivot 59 about which a flag pusher member 58 can rotate . the flag pusher member 58 includes a tooth 61 that engages the flag and assists in separating the lead pack 12a from the file . the flag pusher member 58 also includes a projection 60 which cooperates with an edge 52 of the pivot support bracket 51 in order to limit the counterclock - wise rotation of flag pusher member 58 . the separation and transfer apparatus 10 includes a pair of transfer arms 80 , 81 which rotate about a shaft 89 . transfer arm 80 is connected to transfer arm 81 by means of a plate 93 so that the two transfer arms 80 , 81 will rotate in unison about shaft 89 . transfer arm 80 has attached thereto a pin connection support bracket 82 . one end of a movable link 83 is connected to support bracket 82 by means of a pin 88 and the other end of movable link 83 is connected to one end of a movable link 84 by means of a pin 87 . the other end of movable link 84 is connected , by means of a pin 86 , to a pin connection support bracket 85 mounted on side plate 19 . a cam roller 90 is mounted on movable link 84 . the transfer arm 80 along with movable links 83 and 84 also make up an open four link chain . each transfer arm includes an arcuate extension 98 . mounted on one arcuate extension 98 is a magnet 91 . mounted on the side plate 18 is a reed switch 92 that is controlled by magnet 91 . referring now to fig4 f , there is shown a sheet support assist member 96 , which in a preferred embodiment is a piece of mylar , one end of which is fastened to the trough extension memmber 15 . the other end of the sheet support member 96 is allowed to project beyond the trough extension memmber 15 beside the l - shaped pan 65 . the outside edge of the sheet support memmber 96 underlies the outer edge of the folded sheets in the file 12 . the motion of the flag pusher support member 41 is controlled by the shape of cam 35 which contacts cam roller 49 . the motion of l - shaped pan 65 is controlled by the shape of cam 36 which contacts cam roller 73 . the motion of transfer arms 80 and 81 is controlled by the shape of cam 37 which contacts cam roller 90 . cams 35 , 36 and 37 are mounted on a cam shaft 30 mounted in bearing 31 in side plate 18 and in bearing 32 in side plate 19 . cam shaft 30 is intermittently driven from a single revolution clutch assembly 28 . drive means for the single revolution clutch 28 is provided by a sprocket 33 , attached to said clutch , that is driven by means of a chain 34 and a drive sprocket 27 attached to the shaft of a motor 26 which is mounted on a plate 25 . normally , motor 26 continuously drives sprocket 33 . the single revolution clutch assembly 28 is solenoid operated . power to the solenoid is applied through the contacts of reed switch 57 . when the flag sheets pass under the flag sensor thereby causing magnet 56 , which rotates in unison with flag sensor 53 , to be placed sufficiently near reed switch 57 so as to close the contacts thereof , power is applied to the solenoid of the single revolution clutch assembly 28 . the single revolution clutch assembly 28 engages cam shaft 30 and causes cam shaft 30 to rotate 360 ° after which the clutch assembly 28 is disengaged from shaft 30 until another reed switch 57 closure occurs . the shape of cam 36 , which contacts cam roller 73 , controls the motion of l - shaped pan 65 . as shown in fig3 l - shaped pan 65 is in the rest position . during the initial portion of a cam cycle , l - shaped pan 65 is caused to rotate approximately 90 ° about hinge 74 . this causes the lead pack 12a of the file to be moved out of the path of the continuously moving file . during the latter portion of the cycle of cam 36 , the l - shaped pan 65 is returned to the rest position for receiving the next pack from the continuously moving file . the shape of cam 35 which contacts cam roller 49 controls the motion of the flag pusher support member 41 . as best illustrated in fig4 d , the function of flag pusher member 41 is to maintain tooth 61 behind flag 13a to initiate the separation of the lead pack 12a from the file and to provide for the transfer of the flag sheets 13a with the lead pack 12a . as shown in fig1 the pivot point 45 for flag pusher support member 41 is located very close to the hinge 74 of l - shaped pan 65 so that tooth 61 will maintain contact with the back of flag 13a when the flag pusher support member 41 rotates in synchronism with pan 65 . it is not necessary for the flag pusher member 41 to rotate through a full 90 ° as does l - shaped pan 65 . in a preferred embodiment of this invention the flag pusher support member rotates through 41 °. as shown in fig2 the width of l - shaped pan 65 is considerably less than the width of the folded sheets , which have previously been described as being slightly less the distance between the side walls of spacers 20 and 21 . the width of l - shaped pan 65 is also less than the spacing between the interior edges to transfer arms 80 and 81 . therefore , as best illustrated in fig4 e and 4f , after the l - shaped pan 65 has been rotated down and out of the path of the continuously moving file 12 , the edges of the folded sheets will overhang the sides of l - shaped pan 65 and will be in the path of transfer arms 80 and 81 . as the transfer arms 80 and 81 are caused to pivot about shaft 89 , as determined by the shape of cam 37 , they contact the overhanging edges of the folded sheets and push the lead pack off of l - shaped pan 65 and onto the work station 100 . tthe transfer arms 80 and 81 are then returned to the rest position as shown in fig1 . fig4 e and 4f also illustrate the cooperation of the arcuate extension 98 of transfer arm 80 with flexible member 96 to provide temporary support for the lead sheets of the remainder of the advancing file . as the transfer arms 80 , 81 pivot about shaft 89 to transfer the lead pack 12a of folded sheets from the pan 65 to the work station 100 , the upper surface 99 of arcuate extensions 98 is extended beneath the lead sheets in the remaining file . if flexible material 96 were not present , the bottom of the lead sheets in the remaining file 12b would try to rest on the upper surface 99 of the arcuate extension 98 and , as the transfer arm 80 pivoted , the upper surface 99 of the arcuate extension would pull the lead sheets away from the remaining file . thus , flexible member 96 isolates the bottom edges of the lead sheets in the file from the motion of the upper surface 99 of arcuate extension 98 while still allowing surface 99 to support the lead sheets of the file as the file advances beyond the hinge point 74 of the l - shaped pan 65 . as best shown in fig4 d and 4e , as l - shaped pan 65 rotates about hinge 74 , the member 96 should also flex around hinge 74 so that the lead pack 12a will maintain its arrangement in the l - shaped pan 65 . as transfer arms 80 and 81 transfer the pack 12a from the pan 65 to the work station 100 , the upper surface 99 of arcuate extension 98 straightens out the flexible member 96 and provides temporary support for the lead sheets of the remaining file . during the initial separation of the lead pack 12a from the next pack 12b in the file , a partial vacuum is created between the last flag sheet 13a and the first sheet in the next pack 12b . this partial vacuum applies a force to the lead sheets of the next pack 12b which tends to pull them away from the remaining file . if the file motion is in a perfectly horizontal direction , then any slight vacuum force on the lead sheets would cause the lead sheets to move in the direction of the rotation of pan 65 , and then gravity will cause the sheet to remain with the pack in pan 65 . by inclining the end of the trough 14 and the trough extension 15 upward at an angle of between 33 ° and 37 °, the forces on the lead sheets of the remaining file that are generated during the separation of the lead pack from the file are not sufficient to pull or rotate the lead sheets past the vertical , and gravity will cause the lead sheets to fall back into the remaining file . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that means , such as wire retainers ( not shown ) attached to spacers 20 and 21 , could contact and restrain the lead sheets of the remaining file thereby allowing trough extension 15 to be inclined at an angle less than 33 ° to the horizontal . the overall operation of the pack separation and transfer apparatus 10 will now be described . referring to fig3 there is shown a continuously moving file 12 of folded sheets that is progressing from trough 14 onto trough extension 15 and into the l - shaped pan 65 . the initial pack 12a is shown about halfway into pan 65 and is separated from the next pack 12b by several flag sheets 13a that have been displaced so that they extend a short distance above the file 12 . as shown in fig4 a , as the file continues to move , flag sheets 13a contact the bottom edge of the flag pusher 58 which causes flag pusher 58 to rotate about pivot point 59 thereby allowing the flag sheets 13a to pass under the flag pusher member 58 with a minimum of disturbance . as the file continues to advance into pan 65 , the flag sheets 13a reach the position illustrated in fig4 b wherein they pass beyond the tooth 61 of flag pusher member 58 . the gravitational force acting on flag pusher 58 causes it to rotate counterclockwise so that the tooth 61 is positioned behind the flag 13a . the counterclockwise rotation of flag pusher 58 is limited by projection 60 which contacts edge 52 of flag pusher support member 51 . as the file continues to advance into pan 65 the flag 13a pushes against the bottom surface of flag sensor 53 causing it along with magnet 56 to rotate about pivot point 54 . when the flag sheets 13a have reached a predetermined point in the apparatus , the lead pack 12a will be in pan 65 and magnet 56 will be so located as to operate reed switch 57 . the closure of reed switch 57 causes power to be applied to the solenoid which operates the single revolution clutch assembly 28 . during a first portion of the cycle , flag pusher support member 41 is pivoted about pin 45 , and tooth 61 acting on the rear of flag shets 13a , initiates the separation of lead pack 12a and flag sheets 13a from the file . during a second portion of the cycle , pan 65 which is pivoted about hinge 74 , rotates in synchronism with flag pusher support member 41 to reach the position of fig4 d . during a third portion of the cycle the pan 65 continues to pivot about hinge 74 until the initial pack 12a is completely out of the path of the remaining file and flag pusher support member 41 is rotated in the clockwise direction and is returned to the resting position as illustrated in fig4 e . during the fourth portion of the cycle , transfer arms 80 and 81 are caused to pivot about shaft 89 which transfers the lead pack 12a from pan 65 to work station surface 100 as indicated in fig4 f . during the fifth portion of the cycle , pan 65 and transfer arms 80 and 81 are returned to their rest positions to await the arrival of the next pack 12b in the file . when transfer arm 80 returns to the rest position , magnet 91 attached to arcuate extension 98 operates reed switch 92 to provide a signal indicating the completion of the cycle . while the present invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment thereof it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . for example , although the flag sensor 53 of the preferred embodiment utilizes a mechanical sensor to cause the operation of a reed switch 57 that is responsive to the location of a magnet 56 , it will be clear to those skilled in the art that other flag detecting means such as a light source and a photoelectric cell can be used to detect the presence of the flag . the magnetically operated signaling device is preferred when the apparatus is handling paper products because the response of a photoelectric signalling device can be adversely affected by buildup of paper fibers and dust on the components thereof . furthermore , flag sensor 53 does not have to move with flag pusher support member 41 but could remain stationary . it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the flag pusher support member 41 does not have to be driven independently of pan 65 . for example , the flag pusher support member 41 can be attached to pan 65 so that the flag pusher member 58 moves in unison with pan 65 thereby eliminating the linkage that drives flag pusher support member 41 .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

dcoit can be encapsulated in a number of wall materials to provide xylene in - can stability and to provide sustained release of the dcoit upon exposure to water ( i . e ., natural water or saltwater ). in a particular embodiment of the invention , the microcapsules are able to limit the release of the encapsulated dcoit to less than 10 % and preferably less than 5 % in xylene at room temperature for 90 days . in other embodiments , the xylene impermeability is such that less than 10 % and preferably less than 5 % of dcoit is released at 45 ° c . over 90 days . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention a microcapsule having a wall formed from a hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol and phenolic resin is used for this purpose . in the case of microcapsules formed using partially hydrolyzed pva , the hydrophilic character of the capsule shell can be adjusted by varying the amount of partially hydrolyzed pva that is incorporated in the wall . in one embodiment , the partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol and the phenolic resin components ( e . g ., urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde ) are incorporated into the capsule shell in the amount of about 4 to about 8 parts by weight partially hydrolyzed pva and about 20 to 30 parts phenolic resin . the encapsulation procedure for making these microcapsules is well known in the art and is illustrated in example 1 . as illustrated in this example , to prevent the dcoit from reacting with the wall materials , the dcoit is mixed with a solvent diluent such as a substituted aromatic solvent like sas 310 from nisseki chemical . an amino - formaldehyde microcapsule ( e . g . a melamine - formaldehyde ( mf )) shell provides very stable microcapsules impermeable to xylene , but tends to be too impermeable in seawater to provide good bio - efficacy for use in conventional antifouling paints . it has been found that by optimizing the shell thickness , a balance of the desired properties of the microcapsules can be achieved . in one embodiment of the present invention , control of microcapsule shell thickness by particle size distribution and shell - to - core ratios contributes diffusion performance or sustained release characteristic . in one embodiment a microencapsulated dcoit based on an amino - urea - formaldehyde shell system , the target wall thickness is about 0 . 1 to about 0 . 2 micron , or the shell to core ratio is about 0 . 03 / 1 to 0 . 05 / 1 by weight depending on the mean capsule diameter and overall capsule size distribution profile . partially hydrolyzed pva functions as a dopant in the amino - urea formaldehyde wall . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention an agent referred to herein as a “ dopant ” is incorporated in the microcapsule wall to enhance the ability of water to leach the dcoit from the capsule . according to one theory , the dopant interferes with the amino - urea - formaldehyde condensation reaction and cause hydrophilic defects in the microcapsule wall to facilitate the diffusion of the dcoit . representative examples of dopants include : partially and fully hydrolyzed pvas , hydroxylethylcellulose , hydroxypropylcellulose , methylcellulose , hydroxyethylmethylcellulose , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , hyroxybutylmethylcellulose , ethylhydroxyethylcellulose and polyethylene glycols . while the amount of dopant used will vary with the nature and thickness of the wall , in a particular embodiment the dopants are incorporated into the wall in an amount of about 2 to about 10 % by weight based upon the weight of the wall materials . for capsules having thick walls , the amount of required dopant is expected to be more than the effective amount for thinner wall capsules . in order to enhance natural water or saltwater release or extraction of the dcoit , in one embodiment of the invention , the dcoit is mixed with a partially water miscible solvent . examples of partial water miscible solvents include esters and ethers and , more particularly , dibasic esters such as dimethyl adipate , or a blend of diisobutyl adipate , diisobutyl glutarate and diisobutyl succinate , polyglycol p - 1200 , and glycol ether eb acetate . miscible organic solvents having partial water solubility in the range of approximately 0 . 5 to 5 % in water are used in one embodiment of the invention . the upper range on the water solubility is not an absolute limit but reflects that if the solvent is more water soluble , it may move into the continuous phase and not remain with the dcoit to enhance its water leachability . high boiling hydrophilic solvents , for example , having boiling points above 175 ° c . are desirable to use . if the boiling point of this solvent is too low , the solvent is difficult to retain in the microcapsule during the capsule drying operation . in a particular embodiment the higher boiling partially water miscible solvent is incorporated into the core in an amount of about 5 to about 50 % and in other embodiments in an amount of about 10 to 25 % by weight based upon the weight of the dcoit . in some embodiments a dual walled capsule has been used . in particular a dual encapsulation process with a first interfacial capsule wall of acrylic polymer and second wall of pva - urea - resorcinol - gluteraldehyde can be used as illustrated in more detail in example 3 . the dual acrylic - pva - urg system is advantageous because it provides a formaldehyde free product . encapsulation based on pva - urg or acrylic alone typically results in quite leaky capsules that are difficult to recover as a powder . however , combining the two systems to form hybrid capsule shells has resulted in dry free flow capsule powders . another embodiment of the present invention , uses a dual encapsulation process with a first interfacial capsule wall of acrylic polymer and pva - urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde ( urf ) polymer is illustrated in example 4 . in still another embodiment of the present invention , dual wall microcapsules are formed comprising a first wall that is an interfacial reaction product of an aromatic polyisocyanate , a second wall of pva - urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde ( urf ) condensation polymer is illustrated in example 5 . other microcapsule wall systems that can be used in other embodiments of the present invention , include an mf shell capsule further re - encapsulated with pva - urf ( example 6 ); an mf shell capsules re - encapsulated with pva - urea - resorcinol - gluteraldehyde polymer ( example 7 ); a pva - urf shell capsule re - encapsulated with an mf process ; a hydrophilic shell comprising gelatin - gum arabic as a first shell and a overcoat of melamine - formaldehyde resin or a urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde condensation polymer ( examples 8 and 9 ). regarding the dual wall systems , the mf provides significant improvement in xylene stability while the pva - urf or pva - urg wall provides additional hydrophilicity in the shell to facilitate diffusion of the dcoit in an aqueous environment . the dual wall system provides shell strength to minimize capsule damage during paint formulation and spray application to ship hulls . the ultimate shell characteristics for microencapsulated dcoit are achieved by adjusting the thickness of the two wall materials to afford a balance of xylene stability and diffusion of dcoit in seawater . in another embodiment of the invention , the dcoit is first encapsulated in a thin ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 1 micron ) mf wall , and then further encapsulated in a pva wall as described above . in this case the use of the solvent diluent like the sas 310 may not be necessary for the encapsulation using the pva - urf system since the mf wall prevents the dcoit from reacting with the wall components . thus , this dual encapsulation process allows the dcoit to be encapsulated without the diluting effect of solvent and therefore affords a more cost effective product . of course , the partially water miscible solvent may continue to be used with the dcoit to enhance water leachability . in one embodiment of the present invention , multi - shell microcapsules comprising an interfacial first wall with the reaction of an aromatic polyisocyanate , a second shell of gelatin - gum arabic and a third overcoat capsule wall of melamine - formaldehyde resin ( example 10 ). the 3 - wall system of isocyanate / gelatin - gum arabic / mf is just another method of controlling capsule - wall permeability in an aqueous environment . the isocyanate - gelatin interface reduces premature diffusion of the dcoit in the xylene - based paints . the interfacial reaction of polyisocyanate in conjunction with the pva - urf provides another method of microencapsulating dcoit . the interfacial skin of polyurethane or polyurea formed by the reaction of the isocyanate with the pva or a polyamine provides an additional barrier for improving capsule stability in the xylene based maf paints . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , the microcapsules should be small in order to be used in spray applications and to provide better distribution of the active ingredient in the paint film . in one embodiment , the capsule size range is about 5 microns to about 40 microns , and more typically about 5 microns to about 20 microns . distribution of the biocide improves with smaller capsules such as less than 10 microns . the microcapsules are usually dried before incorporating them into the paint formulation . any conventional process for drying microcapsules including spray drying can be used for this purpose . however , for certain water - based paints , it will in some cases be possible to incorporate the microcapsules into the paint without drying . in accordance with an embodiment of this invention , the encapsulated biocide is combined with a film former or binder such as the film formers and binders that have been proposed for use in marine paints , gel coats and the like ( e . g ., natural or synthetic resin or rosin binders ) to provide coating compositions . in one embodiment of the invention , marine antifouling paint compositions can be prepared . such paints can be prepared by incorporating the microcapsules described herein into the paint in an amount that is sufficient to impart the desired antifouling properties . such amounts can be readily determined empirically by those skilled in the art . examples of marine paints reported in the literature that are useful herein may contain about 5 to 50 % by weight , or in other cases about 10 to 25 % by weight , xylene or another solvent base , about 20 to 30 % by weight zinc resinate to plasticize the resin binder , about 10 to 20 % by weight resin binder , about 0 to 50 %, or in other cases about 30 to 40 % by weight , cuprous oxide pigment , and 4 to 6 % by weight thixotropic viscosity modifier . generally , the ingredients were thoroughly mixed as follows : 200 ml of the paint composition is introduced into a tight metallic container of 0 . 5 l capacity together with 100 ml ( bulk volume ) of glass beads with a diameter of 2 - 3 mm . the container is then shaken for 45 minutes on a mechanical shaker . the final paint composition is separated from the glass beads by filtration . the microencapsulated dcoit biocide is incorporated in the paint in an amount to provide the marine antifouling properties that are desired ( e . g ., about 3 to 10 % by weight ). the amount required will be a function of the rate at which the dcoit is leached from the microcapsules . in one embodiment , the capsules are added in an amount to provide about 2 % dcoit in the dry film . other applications for microencapsulated dcoit may include use as a controlled release biocide in latex or oil - based paints and coatings , adhesives , sealants , caulks , mastic and patching materials , building materials , roofing materials such as shingles , plastics , polymer composites , paper processing , paper coatings , wood preservation , cooling water towers , metal working fluids , and as a general preservative . additionally , while the discussion herein particularly addresses xylene based paints , the encapsulation techniques described herein may also be useful in providing solvent resistance and in - can stability for paints based on other solvents such as c - 3 to c - 10 ketones , more specifically c - 5 to c - 7 ketones ( e . g ., methyl isobutyl ketone ( mibk ), isoamyl methyl ketone , hexanone , etc . ); c - 1 to c - 10 alcohols , more specifically c - 4 to c - 6 alcohols ( e . g ., n - butanol and 2 - butoxy ethanol ); c - 5 to c - 50 aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons , more specifically c5 - c32 hydrocarbons and still more specifically c5 - c19 hydrocarbons ( e . g ., petroleum spirits , ethyl benzene , and trimethyl benzene ); and for paints containing plasticizers such as phosphate esters and aromatic esters . in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , a combination of two or more microcapsules can be used which release the biocide at different rates , for example , one microcapsule may be used that releases the biocide after or over a short time period and another microcapsule ( s ) might be used that releases the biocide after or over a somewhat longer time . these microcapsules may be made of different wall materials or different wall thicknesses in accordance with other embodiments of the invention . the present invention is further illustrated by the following non - limiting examples . an aqueous phase was prepared consisting of 160 grams each of a 5 % strength aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol , vinol 540 and vinol 125 ( both manufactured by air products ) and 300 grams of water . the aqueous phase is heated to 40 ° c . the core material is prepared as a mixture of 100 grams of kathon 287t ( 97 %) manufactured by rohm and haas and 100 grams of a substituted aromatic solvent , sas 310 manufactured by nisseki chemical and heated to 40 ° c . the aqueous phase and the core material are added to a 1 - quart waring blender jar and the slurry is emulsified at moderate speed for about 15 minutes to produce an oil - in - water emulsion of droplets in the size range of about 10 to 40 microns . the emulsion is transferred to a 1 - liter beaker . the slurry is slowly agitated using a turbine impellor while maintaining the temperature at about 40 ° c . a solution of 4 grams of urea and 10 grams of resorcinol in 60 grams of water is slowly added to the emulsion . a solution of 2 grams sodium sulfate in 30 grams of water is subsequently added to the slurry in drop - wise fashion . a 30 ml 37 % formaldehyde solution is added drop - wise followed 10 minutes later by the addition of 20 ml of a 10 % sulfuric acid solution over a 5 - minute period . the slurry is warmed to 45 ° c . and after about one hour a solution of 4 g of urea , 6 g of resorcinol , 50 g of water and 20 ml of 37 % formaldehyde second addition is added drop - wise . this solution may be divided , with half added in 15 minutes followed by a 15 - minute hold period prior to adding the second half . one hour later another solution like the proceeding is added to the slurry in the same fashion . the slurry is heated to 55 ° c . and allowed to stir for 16 hours . the microcapsule slurry is cooled to ambient temperature and ph adjusted to 7 . 0 using 10 % sodium hydroxide solution . the slurry is then diluted with water and strained using a 125 - 150 um sieve to remove encapsulated air and any debris . the slurry is set aside to allow the microcapsules to settle . the supernatant liquid is decanted and microcapsule concentrate is re - slurried with water . a small amount of syloid 244 silica from w . r . grace company is stirred into the slurry ; and the microcapsules are vacuum - filtered using whatman 4 . 0 paper and tray dried to produce 230 grams of dry free - flowing powder . the resultant microcapsules are mostly 10 - 40 microns and can be incorporated in a marine coating composition to impart anti - fouling properties . the microcapsules were tested for stability in xylene by placing a 50 - mg sample into 50 mls of xylene and periodically analyzing a small aliquot of the xylene spectrophotometrically for the presence of dcoit to determine the amount diffused through the capsule shell . samples were tested after room storage . 1 . 1 % dcoit was released after 56 days at room temperature . the microencapsulation of the neat kathon 287t is carried out in an aqueous continuous phase to produce microcapsules comprising an amino - formaldehyde shell . an aqueous phase is prepared consisting of 27 . 5 g of a 3 . 75 % ethylene maleic anhydride co - polymer ( manufactured by zeeland chemical company ) solution and 30 . 37 g of water and heated to 45 ° c . in a separate vessel , 32 . 5 g of kathon 287t 97 % manufactured by rohm and haas and is heated to 45 ° to form a liquid melt . an emulsion is prepared by dispersing the melted kathon core material in the aqueous phase using an ika - works mixer and high speed turbine with the speed controlled to produce kathon droplets mostly in the range of 10 - 50 um . while maintaining the temperature at 45 ° c . during the emulsification process , 5 . 58 grams of cymel 385 manufactured by cytec is added to stabilize the emulsion . after about 15 minutes , the agitation speed is reduced and additional 1 . 79 grams of the cymel 385 resin is added while maintaining the temperature at around 50 ° c . after a few minutes , a 5 - gram solution of a 5 % polyvinyl alcohol vinyl 540 manufactured by air products is added followed a drop - wise addition of 11 grams of a 15 % salt solution of potassium dihydrogen phosphate over a 10 minute period . the temperature of the microcapsule slurry is slowly increased to 65 ° c . and 2 . 06 grams of urea is added about 1 . 5 hours after the salt addition . after an additional 4 hours of stirring at 65 ° c ., the slurry is cooled to ambient and the ph adjusted to 7 . 0 using 45 % potassium hydroxide solution . the slurry is diluted 1 : 1 with water and sieved using a 125 um sieve to remove encapsulated air and any debris . the microcapsules are allowed settle and the supernatant liquid decanted . the microcapsule concentrate is re - slurried in water and the decantation process repeated . the microcapsules are re - slurried with water ; vacuum filtered using whatman 4 . 0 paper ; and tray dried either on the lab bench at ambient conditions or in a warm oven . the resultant microcapsules are a dry - free flowing powder that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the microcapsules were tested using the xylene extraction test described in example 1 and 1 . 4 % dcoit was released after 56 days at room temperature . microencapsulation of dcoit biocide with a dual shell of acrylic and pva - urea - resorcinol - gluteraldehyde an internal phase is prepared by mixing together molten kathon 287t ( 150 g ) at a temperature of around 50 ° c ., with methyl methacrylate ( 10 g ) 1 , 4 , butanediol diacrylate ( 10 g ) and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate ( 10 g ). just prior to emulsification , tertbutyl perpivalate ( 1 g ) is mixed in to the internal phase . the internal phase is homogenized into water ( 254 g ) containing polyvinyl alcohol ( elvanol 50 - 42 ) ( 6 g ) using a waring 1 liter blender for 10 minutes until a stable emulsion is formed . the emulsion is then transferred into a 1 - liter beaker with overhead stirring , thermometer and nitrogen supply and deoxygenated with nitrogen for 1 hour while heating to 90 ° c . the batch is then held at 90 ° c . for 1 . 5 hours after nitrogen removal before being cooled down to 45 ° c . the resulting emulsion contains polymeric particles each comprising a polymeric shell encapsulating the kathon 287t having a mean particle size of 19 microns . the particles of encapsulated kathon 287t are then subjected to a secondary treatment at 45 ° c . involving drop wise additions of aluminum sulfate tg 8 . 3 % ( 60 g ) over 12 minutes , 10 v / v % sulfuric acid ( 34 g ) over 12 minutes , and a mixture of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) over 12 minutes . then a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) are added drop wise very slowly over 20 minutes to prevent aggregation . then a second addition of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) is added over 12 minutes followed by a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) added drop wise over 12 minutes . followed by a third addition of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) is added over 12 minutes followed by a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) added drop wise over 12 minutes . after all additions are made the temperature is increased from 45 ° c . to 50 ° c . and held overnight to cure for approximately 16 hours . after cooling and ph neutralization the microcapsules are filtered and dried to produce a fine free flowing powder that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . example 3a is repeated using a solution of sodium sulfate powder ( 2 g ) dissolved in water ( 30 g ) instead of aluminum sulfate . the sodium sulfate solution is added drop wise over 12 minutes . again , a dry free flowing powder was achieved that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . dual encapsulation process with a first interfacial capsule wall of acrylic polymer and pva - urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde polymer an internal phase is prepared by mixing together molten kathon 287t ( 150 g ) at a temperature of around 50 ° c ., with methyl methacrylate ( 10 g ) 1 , 4 , butanediol diacrylate ( 10 g ) and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate ( 10 g ). just prior to emulsification , tertbutyl perpivalate ( 1 g ) is mixed in to the internal phase . the internal phase is homogenized into water ( 453 g ) containing polyvinyl alcohol ( elvanol 50 - 42 ) ( 6 g ) and ( elvanol 71 - 30 ) ( 6 g ) using a waring 1 liter blender for 8 minutes until a stable emulsion is formed . the emulsion is then transferred into a 1 . 5 - liter beaker with overhead stirring , thermometer and nitrogen supply and deoxygenated with nitrogen for 1 hour while heating to 90 ° c . the batch is then held at 90 ° c . for 1 . 5 hours after nitrogen removal before being cooled down to 40 ° c . the resulting emulsion contains polymeric particles each comprising a polymeric shell encapsulating the kathon 287t having a mean particle size of 19 microns . the particles of encapsulated kathon 287t are then subjected to a secondary treatment at 40 ° c . involving drop wise addition of a mixture of urea ( 3 g ), resorcinol ( 7 . 5 g ), and water ( 45 g ) over 12 minutes . then a solution of sodium sulfate powder ( 1 . 5 g ) and water ( 22 . 5 g ) is added drop wise over 10 minutes . then a 37 % solution of formaldehyde ( 22 . 5 ml ) is added drop wise over 10 minutes . after a 10 - minute hold at 40 ° c ., 10 v / v % sulfuric acid is added drop wise over 6 minutes . the batch is then stirred and slowly heated to 45 ° c . over 1 hour . then a second addition of a solution of urea ( 3 g ), resorcinol ( 4 . 5 g ), water ( 37 . 5 g ) and 37 % formaldehyde ( 15 ml ) is divided in half and added over 12 minutes followed by the second half after a 15 minute hold at 45 ° c . the batch is then stirred and slowly heated to 48 ° c . over 1 hour . a third addition of urea ( 3 g ), resorcinol ( 4 . 5 g ), water ( 37 . 5 g ) and 37 % formaldehyde ( 15 ml ) is added over 12 minutes . after all additions are made the temperature is increased from 48 ° c . to 50 ° c . and held overnight to cure for approximately 16 hours . after cooling and ph neutralization the microcapsules are filtered and dried to produce a dry product that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . dual wall microcapsules comprising an interfacial first wall with the reaction of an aromatic polyisocyanate , a second shell of pva - urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde condensation polymer an internal phase is prepared by mixing together molten kathon 287t ( 90 g ) at a temperature of around 50 ° c ., with desmodur l 75 ( bayer ) ( 10 g ). the internal phase is homogenized into water ( 302 g ) containing polyvinyl alcohol ( elvanol 50 - 42 ) ( 4 g ) and ( elvanol 71 - 30 ) ( 4 g ) using a waring 1 liter blender for 13 minutes until a stable emulsion is formed . the emulsion is then transferred into a 1 - liter beaker with overhead stirring and thermometer . the batch is then heated to 5 ° c . and a solution of triethylene diamine ( 0 . 5 g ) and water ( 10 g ) is added drop wise . the batch is then held at 50 ° c . overnight . the resulting emulsion contains polymeric particles each comprising a polymeric poly urea shell encapsulating the kathon 287t having a mean particle size of 16 microns . the particles of encapsulated kathon 287t are then subjected to a secondary treatment at 40 ° c . involving drop wise addition of a mixture of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 5 g ), and water ( 30 g ) over 12 minutes . then a solution of sodium sulfate powder ( 1 g ) and water ( 15 g ) is added drop wise over 6 minutes . then a 37 % solution of formaldehyde ( 15 ml ) is added drop wise over 7 minutes . after a 10 - minute hold at 40 ° c ., 10 v / v % sulfuric acid is added drop wise over 5 minutes . the batch is then stirred and slowly heated to 45 ° c . over hour . then a second addition of a solution of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 3 g ), water ( 25 g ) and 37 % formaldehyde ( 10 ml ) is divided in half and added over 12 minutes followed by the second half after a 15 minute hold at 45 ° c . the batch is then stirred and slowly heated to 48 ° c . over 1 hour . a third addition of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 3 g ), water ( 25 g ) and 37 % formaldehyde ( 10 ml ) is added over 12 minutes . after all additions are made the temperature is increased from 48 ° c . to 50 ° c . and held overnight to cure for approximately 16 hours . after cooling and ph neutralization the microcapsules are filtered and dried to produce a lumpy isolation . an internal phase is prepared by melting kathon 287t ( 260 g ) at a temperature of around 50 ° c . the internal phase is homogenized into an aqueous a solution consisting of 110 . 0 g of a 3 . 75 % ethylene maleic anhydride copolymer solution and 121 . 48 g of water using a waring 1 liter blender . while maintaining the temperature of around 50 ° c . during the emulsification process , cymel 385 ( 22 . 33 g ) manufactured by cytec is added to stabilize the emulsion . after about 15 minutes , the agitation is reduced and 10 - 50 um droplets are formed . the emulsion is then transferred into a 1 - liter beaker with overhead stirring and thermometer . then a 15 % salt solution ( 44 g ) of potassium dihydrogen phosphate is added drop wise . the batch is then heated to 65 ° c . over 1 . 5 hours and held for 4 hour then cooled . the resulting emulsion contains polymeric particles each comprising a polymeric amino - formaldehyde shell encapsulating the kathon 287t having a mean particle size of 16 microns . the particles of encapsulated kathon 287t slurry are then divided in half . this ( 272 g ) fraction is subjected to a secondary treatment at 45 ° c . involving drop wise addition of a mixture of urea ( 3 g ), resorcinol ( 3 g ), and water ( 30 g ) over 10 minutes . then a 37 % solution of formaldehyde ( 18 ml ) is added drop wise over 7 minutes . after a 10 - minute hold at 45 ° c ., 10 v / v % sulfuric acid ( 10 ml ) is added drop wise over 5 minutes . the batch is then stirred at 45 ° c . over 1 hour . then a second addition of a solution of urea ( 3 g ), resorcinol ( 7 g ), water ( 30 g ) and 37 % formaldehyde ( 25 ml ) is divided in half and added over 12 minutes followed by the second half after a 15 minute hold at 45 ° c . the batch is then stirred and slowly heated to 55 ° c . over 1 hour . then heated to 60 ° c . for 3 hours and cooled . after cooling and ph neutralization the microcapsules are filtered and dried to produce a fine free flowing powder that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the microcapsules were tested using the xylene extraction test described in example 1 except that a sample of the microcapsules was also tested at 45 ° c . in this test 0 . 4 % dcoit was released after 28 days at room temperature and 2 . 7 % dcoit was released after 28 days at 45 ° c . an internal phase is prepared by melting kathon 287t ( 260 g ) at a temperature of around 50 ° c . the internal phase is homogenized into an aqueous solution consisting of 110 . 0 g of a 3 . 75 % ethylene maleic anhydride copolymer solution and 121 . 48 g of water using a waring 1 liter blender . while maintaining the temperature of around 50 ° c . during the emulsification process , cymel 385 ( 22 . 33 g ) manufactured by cytec is added to stabilize the emulsion . after about 15 minutes , the agitation is reduced and 10 - 50 um droplets are formed . the emulsion is then transferred into a 1 - liter beaker with overhead stirring and thermometer . then a 15 % salt solution ( 44 g ) of potassium dihydrogen phosphate is added drop wise . the batch is then heated to 65 ° c . over 1 . 5 hours and held for 4 hour then cooled . the resulting emulsion contains polymeric particles each comprising a polymeric amino - formaldehyde shell encapsulating the kathon 287t having a mean particle size of 16 microns . the particles of encapsulated kathon 287t slurry are then divided and half are filtered to a wet cake of 80 . 51 % ( 127 . 5 g dry wt .). the wet cake is then re - suspended in a mixture of water ( 254 g ) containing polyvinyl alcohol ( elvanol 50 - 42 ) ( 6 g ) and subjected to a secondary treatment at 45 ° c . involving drop wise additions of aluminum sulfate tg 8 . 3 % ( 60 g ) over 12 minutes , 10 v / v % sulfuric acid ( 34 g ) over 12 minutes , and a mixture of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) over 12 minutes . then a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) are added drop wise very slowly over 20 minutes to prevent aggregation . then a second addition of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) is added over 12 minutes followed by a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) added drop wise over 12 minutes . followed by a third addition of urea ( 2 g ), resorcinol ( 1 . 5 g ), and water ( 20 g ) is added over 12 minutes followed by a mixture of 25 % gluteraldehyde ( 5 g ) and water ( 5 g ) added drop wise over 12 minutes . after all additions are made the temperature is increased from 45 ° c . to 50 ° c . and held overnight to cure for approximately 16 hours . after cooling and ph neutralization the microcapsules are filtered and dried to produce a fine free flowing powder that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the microcapsules were tested using the xylene extraction test described in example 1 except that a sample of the microcapsules was also tested at 45 ° c . in this test 2 . 4 % dcoit was released after 14 days at room temperature and 3 % dcoit was released after 14 days at 45 ° c . example 7a is repeated using a solution of sodium sulfate powder ( 2 g ) dissolved in water ( 30 g ) instead of aluminum sulfate . the sodium sulfate solution is added drop wise over 12 minutes . again , a dry free flowing powder was produced that can be readily incorporated into a marine paint formulation to provide a marine coating in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . dual encapsulation with gelatin / gum arabic as the first shell and melamine resin as the second wall in a 1000 ml beaker fitted with an ika - works mixer and 4 - blade turbine impellor , dissolve 6 grams 300 bloom gelatin and 6 grams spray dried gum arabic in 240 ml deionized water . start mixing at room temperature , again and heat to 80 ° c . with stirring . adjust the ph to clear the solution with 10 % naoh ( ph 7 ). adjust the ph to 4 . 1 with 10 % acetic acid . warm 40 grams kathon 287t to 50 - 60 ° c . to melt . transfer the gelatin / gum arabic solution to a warm blender jar and add the kathon 287t melt . emulsify slowly ( 10 min ) to achieve the desired droplet size ( 10 - 40 microns ). transfer back to the beaker - mixer apparatus in an empty water bath . using a separatory funnel , about 175 ml warm ( 50 - 60 ° c .) deionized water was added drop - wise . check with a microscope to observe liquid - liquid phase separation of a fluid phase that partially wraps the droplets . adjust the amount of deionized water up or down to achieve this result . begin slow cooling the beaker by adding a few ice cubes to the water bath . at 35 ° c ., the fluid polymer phase should be observed microscopically . continue slow cooling to 28 ° c . check microscopically again to verify if the solution is mostly clear with a noticeable wall formation and little free polymer . continue slow cooling to 25 ° c . one should observe a substantial wall and no free polymer . continue cooling to 15 ° c ., at which time 10 grams of 25 % gluteraldehyde is added . after adding more ice , stir overnight , allowing the reaction to warm to room temperature . decant 2 times by letting capsules settle and rinsing with 300 ml deionized water . capsules can be isolated at this point by filtering and adding 1 . 5 grams aerosil 972r to the filter - cake and shaking in a wide - mouth bottle to mix well . the powder is laid out on a paper towel to bench - dry overnight . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . a second wall can be added by filtering the twice - decanted slurry . the wet filter - cake is re - suspended in 25 grams of 3 . 75 % ema solution and 50 ml deionized water . begin heating to 50 ° c . and while dripping in 3 grams cymel 385 in 12 ml deionized water . at 50 ° c ., drop - wise , add 10 grams 15 % dihydrogen phosphate solution . heat to 65 ° c . and hold over night . cool to room temperature and adjust the ph to 7 . 0 with 45 % potassium hydroxide solution . filter , and wash with deionized water . spread out on a paper towel to dry . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . dual encapsulation with gelatin / gum arabic as the first shell and urea - resorcinol - formaldehyde polycondensate as the second wall in a 1000 ml beaker fitted with an ika - works mixer and 4 - blade turbine impellor , dissolve 6 grams 300 bloom gelatin and 6 grams spray dried gum arabic in 240 ml deionized water . start mixing at room temperature , again and heat to 80 ° c . with stirring . adjust the ph to clear the solution with 10 % naoh ( ph 7 ). adjust the ph to 4 . 1 with 10 % acetic acid . warm 40 grams kathon 287t to 50 - 60 ° c . to melt . transfer the gelatin / gum arabic solution to a warm blender jar and add the kathon 287t melt . emulsify slowly (˜ 10 min ) to achieve the desired droplet size ( 10 - 40 microns ). transfer back to the beaker - mixer apparatus in an empty water bath . using a separatory funnel , about 175 ml warm ( 50 - 60 ° c .) deionized water was added drop - wise . check with a microscope to observe liquid - liquid phase separation of a fluid phase that partially wraps the droplets . adjust the amount of deionized water up or down to achieve this result . begin slow cooling the beaker by adding a few ice cubes to the water bath . at 35 ° c ., the fluid polymer phase should be observed microscopically . continue slow cooling to 28 ° c . check microscopically again to verify if the solution is mostly clear with a noticeable wall formation and little free polymer . continue slow cooling to 25 °. one should observe a substantial wall and no free polymer . continue cooling to 15 ° c ., at which time 10 grams of 25 % gluteraldehyde is added . after adding more ice , stir overnight , allowing the reaction to warm to room temperature . decant 2 times by letting capsules settle and rinsing with 300 ml deionized water . capsules can be isolated at this point by filtering and adding 1 . 5 grams aerosil 972r to the filter - cake and shaking in a wide - mouth bottle to mix well . the powder is laid out on a paper towel to bench - dry overnight . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . a second wall can be added by filtering the twice - decanted slurry . the wet filter - cake is re - suspended in 25 grams of 3 . 75 % ema solution and 50 ml deionized water . begin heating to 50 ° c . and while dripping in 2 grams urea and 0 . 2 grams resorcinol in 10 ml deionized water . at 50 ° c ., drop - wise , add 5 grams 37 % formaldehyde solution then 10 grams 15 % dihydrogen phosphate solution . heat to 55 ° c . and hold over night . cool to room temperature and adjust the ph to 7 . 0 with 45 % potassium hydroxide solution . filter , and wash with deionized water . spread out on a paper towel to dry . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . in a 1000 ml beaker fitted with an ika - works mixer and 4 - blade turbine impellor , dissolve 6 grams 300 bloom gelatin and 6 grams spray dried gum arabic in 240 ml deionized water . start mixing at room temperature , again and heat to 80 ° c . with stirring . adjust the ph to clear the solution with 10 % naoh (˜ ph 7 ). adjust the ph to 4 . 1 with 10 % acetic acid . warm 40 grams kathon 287t to 50 - 60 ° c . to melt . add 4 grams desmondure cb - 75 and mix well . transfer the gelatin / gum arabic solution to a warm blender jar and add the kathon 287t solution . emulsify slowly ( 10 min ) to achieve the desired droplet size ( 10 - 40 microns ). transfer back to the beaker - mixer apparatus in an empty water bath . using a separatory funnel , about 175 ml warm ( 50 - 60 ° c .) deionized water was added drop - wise . check with a microscope to observe liquid - liquid phase separation of a fluid phase that partially wraps the droplets . adjust the amount of deionized water up or down to achieve this result . begin slow cooling the beaker by adding a few ice cubes to the water bath . at 35 ° c ., the fluid polymer phase should be observed microscopically . continue slow cooling to 28 ° c . check microscopically again to verify if the solution is mostly clear with a noticeable wall formation and little free polymer . continue slow cooling to 25 ° c . one should observe a substantial wall and no free polymer . continue cooling to 15 ° c ., at which time 10 grams of 25 % gluteraldehyde is added . after adding more ice , stir overnight , allowing the reaction to warm to room temperature . decant 2 times by letting capsules settle and rinsing with 300 ml deionized water . capsules can be isolated at this point by filtering and adding 1 . 5 grams aerosil 972r to the filter - cake and shaking in a wide - mouth bottle to mix well . the powder is laid out on a paper towel to bench - dry overnight . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . a third wall can be added by filtering the twice - decanted slurry . the wet filter - cake is re - suspended in 25 grams of 3 . 75 % ema solution and 50 ml deionized water . begin heating to 50 ° c . and while dripping in 3 grams cymel 385 in 12 ml deionized water . at 50 ° c ., drop - wise , add 10 grams 15 % dihydrogen phosphate solution . heat to 65 ° c . and hold over night . cool to room temperature and adjust the ph to 7 . 0 with 45 % potassium hydroxide solution . filter , and wash with deionized water . spread out on a paper towel to dry . this resulted in a free flowing powder with single ( droplet ) capsules as well as some aggregates . having described the invention in detail and with reference to specific advantages thereof it will be apparent that numerous modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

the invention provides a system and method for directed call establishment to reduce cost and enable the provision of enhanced services to subscribers originating cellular calls in a public land mobile network ( plmn ). the system includes a mobile handset provisioned with an application client adapted to perform directed call establishment . the mobile handset cooperates with but operates independently of a converged services node ( csn ). the csn may be embodied as a session initiation protocol ( sip ) application server in a packet data network . fig1 is a schematic diagram of a hosted voip network 10 provisioned with a csn configured to perform directed call establishment in accordance with the invention . as is well understood by those skilled in the art , hosted voip networks are connected to untrusted voip networks 12 that serve enterprise and / or home environments . the hosted voip network 10 is also connected to the pstn / plmn 14 to permit the offering of transparent communications services originated or terminated in any one of networks 12 and 14 . the untrusted voip networks 12 are connected to the hosted voip network 10 by session border controllers 16 , well known in the art . the pstn / plmn network 14 is connected to the hosted voip network 10 by media gateways 18 and soft switches 34 . the hosted voip network 10 is provisioned with the csn 20 , which acts as a sip application server to provide inter - working functions for specific services between the pstn / plmn 14 and the voip networks 10 , 12 . the hosted voip network 10 further includes one or more feature servers 24 which receive incoming communications session requests from the session border controller ( s ) 16 via communications link ( s ) 36 in a manner well known in the art . the hosted voip network 10 further includes other sip application servers 26 and media servers 28 , both of which are known in the art . each of the servers are connected to a core sip proxy 30 a which has global knowledge of the hosted voip network 10 and controls intra - network routing . an inter - network routing server 32 provides routing control when calls must be routed to other connected networks 12 , 14 . soft switches 34 perform soft switching services within the hosted voip network 10 . the soft switches 34 are connected by signaling links 52 to pstn / plmn network 14 and are ip connected as indicated at 50 to the media gateways 18 . communication channel 58 connects the session border controllers 16 and the media gateways 18 . trunks 56 connect the media gateways 18 to the pstn / plmn 14 . ip interfaces 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 46 and 48 respectively connect the feature servers 24 , csn 20 , sip application servers 26 , media servers 28 , inter - network routing server 32 and soft switches 34 to the core sip proxy 30 a in a manner well known in the art . ip interfaces 36 and 37 connect the session border controllers 16 to the feature servers 24 and the core sip proxy 30 a , likewise in a manner known in the art . it should also be noted that the csn 20 may be connected to the signaling network of the pstn / plmn 14 by any version or variant of transaction capabilities application part ( tcap ) signaling links 22 . this permits the csn 20 to coordinate and control calls originating in the pstn / plmn 14 , the hosted voip network 10 , or other untrusted voip networks 12 , provided that signaling routes provisioned in the respective networks are configured to route signaling messages to the csn 20 as explained in detail in applicant &# 39 ; s co - pending united states patent application publication no . 20060142010 entitled method , system and apparatus for call path reconfiguration filed dec . 27 , 2004 , the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference . fig2 is a schematic diagram of an ims network 60 provisioned with the csn 20 . the ims network 60 is connected by links 54 to : other untrusted voip networks 12 by border control functions 17 ; the pstn / plmn 14 by media gateways 18 ; and , other ims domains 62 by signaling links 72 and 74 . in addition to the components described above with reference to fig3 , the ims 60 includes a session charging function 66 connected to the csn 20 by signaling link 84 and a home subscriber server ( hss ) 68 connected to the csn 20 by signaling link 80 and to a proxy / service / interrogating call session control function ( p - csf ) 64 by a signaling link 78 . a serving call session control function ( s - cscf ) 30 b functions in a way similar to the core sip proxy 30 described with reference to fig2 , and is connected to the other network components in the same way . the s - cscf 30 b and the p - cscf 64 are connected to the border control function ( s ) 17 by signaling links 76 . the s - cscf 30 b is also connected to an interrogating call session control function ( i - cscf ) 65 by a signaling link 70 , which is in turn connected to the media gateway control function ( mgcf ) 18 by a signaling link 71 and to the p - cscf 64 by a signaling link 82 . the s - cscf 30 b is connected to the other ims domain 62 by a signaling link 74 . the p - cscf 64 is connected to the other ims domains by a signaling link 72 . all components , interconnections and operations of all elements of the ims 60 are well known in the art , with the exception of the csn 20 . as described above with reference to fig1 , the csn 20 may be connected to the signaling network of the pstn / plmn 14 by any version or variant of transaction capabilities application part ( tcap ) signaling links 22 . this permits the csn 20 to coordinate and control calls originating in the pstn / plmn 14 , the ims 60 , other ims domain 62 or untrusted voip networks 12 , provided that signaling routes provisioned in the respective networks are configured to route signaling messages to the csn 20 . fig3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the csn provisioned to provide directed call establishment in accordance with the invention . as explained above , in this embodiment the csn 20 is a sip application server . the csn 20 is provisioned with a directed call establishment ( dce ) application 88 programmed to function as described below with reference to fig6 - 8 . the csn 20 is also provisioned with a sip signaling interface 90 , a data messaging interface 92 , and optionally a ss7 signaling interface 96 . the csn 20 is also provisioned with a database 98 that is populated with at least one directed call establishment dial number ( dce / dn ) pool . as will be explained below in detail , each dce / dn pool contains dial numbers used to route cellular calls from a single / dual - mode mobile handset 100 ( fig4 ) through a most appropriate gateway to the csn 20 . a most appropriate gateway may be the most economical to limit cost , or a gateway that supports the required feature set , or any combination of requirements . the number of dce / dn pools populated in the database 98 is a matter of design choice , service level agreements and other factors understood by those skilled in the art . fig4 is a block diagram of a single or dual - mode mobile handset 100 provisioned with a mobile handset application client 102 that is programmed with directed call establishment logic to perform client functions for directed call establishment in accordance with the invention . the application client 102 operates cooperatively with but independently of the csn 20 to enable the cost savings and enhanced communications services afforded by directed call establishment . the application client 102 includes a user interface 104 provisioned with a user interface manager 110 . the user interface manager 110 controls a microphone 112 , a speaker 114 , and a visual display 116 and accepts inputs from a keypad 118 in a manner well known in the art . the application client 102 further optionally includes a call setup and handoff control 106 , which is provisioned with a first line 120 ( line 1 ) and a second line 122 ( line 2 ). line 1 ( 120 ) and line 2 ( 122 ) are used to enable subscriber features such as “ call waiting ”, “ 3 - way conference ” and “ call hold ”, all of which are known in the art . network interfaces 108 support a cellular stack 124 , and if the mobile handset 100 is a dual - mode handset also support a packet network stack 126 . the cellular stack 124 includes a set of layered protocols that are used in existing cellular networks . these protocols are used to send information to and receive information from an msc via a base station using a cellular radio 128 . similarly , the packet network stack 126 includes a set of layered protocols for sending and receiving information via a packet network using a packet radio 130 . the application client 102 is either provisioned with an excluded number list 140 or with a query mechanism 141 that permits the application client 102 to query a network database 143 which stores the excluded number list , as will be explained below in more detail with reference to fig5 . the excluded number list is used to store dial numbers to which directed call establishment is not applied , e . g . emergency numbers and the like . in one embodiment , the excluded number list is pre - provisioned with default excluded numbers , and may be edited by the user to add excluded numbers as desired , or to modify or delete excluded numbers that the user has added . any call launched to a called number that is not in the excluded number list 140 , 143 is a “ selected call ” to which direct call establishment is applied . although the client shown in this embodiment is for a dual mode mobile handset , directed call establishment can be incorporated into a single mode mobile handset that is not part of a seamless handoff service offering . fig5 is a flow diagram providing an overview of tasks performed by the application client 102 of the single or dual - mode mobile handset 100 shown in fig3 , while providing a directed call establishment service in accordance with the invention . the application client 102 of the mobile handset 100 monitors user input ( 202 ) by monitoring the user interface 104 ( fig4 ) to determine when the user launches a new call using the keypad 118 or the speaker 114 , in a manner well known in the art . if the application client 102 detects initiation of a new call ( 204 ), and the mobile handset 100 is a dual - mode device , the application client 102 determines whether the mobile handset 100 is operating in cellular mode ( 206 ). if a dual - mode mobile handset 100 is not operating in cellular mode , the application client 102 processes the new call ( 207 ) using the packet radio 130 and returns to monitoring user input ( 202 ). if the handset 100 is a single mode cellular device , steps 206 and 207 are not performed , as will be understood by those skilled in the art . if the mobile handset 100 is operating in cellular mode , the application client 102 determines whether the new call is associated with an excluded number ( 208 ) by referring to the excluded number list 140 or querying the database to refer to the excluded number list 143 ( fig4 ). as noted above , any number may be designated an excluded number ; however , the numbers most likely to be placed in the excluded number list are , for example , “ 911 ” and the access number for the mobile handset 100 user &# 39 ; s voice mailbox . if the new call has been placed to an excluded number , the application client 102 processes the call in the usual way using the cellular radio ( 210 ). if the new call has not been placed to an excluded number , the call is selected for directed call establishment and the application client 102 collects location information ( 212 ). the location information may be collected on a continuous or periodic basis , for example on startup ; when a handoff from one base station to another is performed ; or on a predetermined schedule . the location information can be collected in a number of different ways . location information ( e . g ., country code and area code ) is routinely provided to the mobile handset 100 by cellular service providers in a manner well known in the art . alternatively , location information can be derived from a global positioning system ( gps ) if the mobile handset 100 is equipped with a gps receiver . the manner in which location information is collected is not important . the location information is useful , however , in enabling a most appropriate packet data network gateway to be selected for a roaming mobile handset 100 , as will be explained below in more detail with reference to fig6 . the application client 102 then composes a directed call establishment ( dce ) request message using : current mobile handset location information ; mobile handset identification ; and , the called number associated with the new call ( 214 ). the handset identification may be , for example , the mobile number associated with the mobile handset 100 or a single directory number if the user subscribes to a single directory number service . depending on the dce / dn selection algorithm ( s ) in the csn 20 , other information may also be sent in the dce request message , such as : handset hardware configuration ; attached network capabilities ; etc . the application client 102 then sends the dce request message to the csn 20 ( 216 ) using the data messaging channel available through the cellular radio 128 , and waits for a dce response message . as understood by those skilled in the art , the data channel may be a circuit mode data channel ( for example , ussd ); a packet mode cellular data channel ; a wide local area network ( wlan ) data channel ; a short message service ( sms ) data channel ; a multimedia message service ( mms ) data channel ; or the like . in reply to the data message sent at 212 , the mobile handset 100 receives ( 218 ) a dce response message containing a directed call establishment dial number ( dce / dn ) from the csn 20 via the data messaging channel . as will be explained below in more detail with reference to fig6 - 8 , the dce / dn is a temporary number used to route a signaling path for the call though the csn 20 . the application client 102 extracts the dce / dn from the dce response message and launches a cellular voice call using the dce / dn as the called number ( 220 ). this establishes a call signaling path to the csn 20 and anchors the call in a voip or an ims network that hosts the csn 20 , as will be explained in more detail with reference to fig6 - 8 . fig6 is a flow diagram providing an overview of tasks performed by the dce application 88 operating on the csn 20 during a first phase of directed call establishment . during the first phase , the csn 20 monitors its data channel ( 300 ) for receipt of a data message . each time a data message is received , the csn 20 determines whether the data message is a dce request message ( 302 ). if the csn 20 determines that the data message is to a dce request message , the csn 20 performs any processing required by the data message ( 304 ) and returns to monitoring the data channel ( 300 ). if it is determined at 302 that the data message is a dce request message , the csn 20 passes the dce request message to the dce application 88 , and the dce application 88 extracts location information , mobile handset 100 identification and the called number from a the dce request message ( 306 ). the dce application 88 then selects ( 308 ) a dce / dn from the database 98 ( fig3 ). in one embodiment , the dce application 88 uses the location information and other optimization logic that exists in the csn 20 to select a dce / dn from one of a plurality of dce / dn number pools indexed such that the location information can be used to locate a specific dce / dn number pool from which the dce / dn is selected . the purpose of the location - indexed dce / dn number pools is to route the call to a most appropriate gateway to a packet data service where the call is anchored to the csn 20 , which can exercise call control . each dce / dn in a dce / dn number pool is unique to that number pool and , once assigned to a call , the dce / dn cannot be re - used for another call that requires a dce / dn from the same number pool until the directed call setup is completed , as will be explained below in more detail . once the dce dn is assigned a timer is started . once the dce / dn is selected and the timer is started at 308 , the dce application 88 stores a copy of the dce / dn along with the handset identification , the called number and any other information received in the dce request message in a memory for later retrieval ( 310 ), as will be further explained below with reference to fig7 and 8 . the dce application 88 then prepares a dce response to the dce request message received at 302 to sends the dce response message ( 312 ) to the mobile handset 100 . fig7 is a flow diagram providing an overview of tasks performed by the dce application 88 during a second phase of directed call establishment . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the csn 20 continuously monitors the timer ( 340 ) set at 308 , as well as its call signaling interface ( s ) for inbound call control messages . if the timer set at 308 expires , it is assumed that the mobile handset 100 is unable to complete the call , and the call session is canceled ( 342 ). the csn 20 then returns the dce / dn to the number pool from which it was extracted ( 344 ), and processing of the call ends . each time an inbound call setup request is received , the called number is extracted ( 350 ). the called number is examined to determine whether it is a dce / dn ( 352 ). if the called number is not a dce / dn , the csn 20 performs any required call processing ( 354 ) and returns to monitoring the timer set at 308 and its call signaling interface ( s ) for inbound call control messages . if the called number is a dce / dn , the csn 20 passes the call control message to the dce application 88 , which uses the dce / dn ( and location information if location information was used at 308 to select the dce / dn number pool ) to retrieve in the called number ( 356 ). the dce application 88 then returns the dce / dn to the number pool from which it was extracted ( 358 ) for use by other directed call establishment calls . the dce application 88 then prepares a call setup request ( 360 ) using the handset identification and the called number stored at 310 . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the handset identification is inserted in the calling party number and the called number is inserted in the called party number of the call setup request . after the call setup request is prepared , the dce application 88 passes it to the csn 20 , which forwards the call setup request into the packet network using routing criteria well understood in the art ( 362 ) and directed call establishment ends . because the csn 20 is now a signaling node in the call path , it can exercise control over directed call establishment calls to effect special call features when directed to do so using any one of a plurality of special call feature activation procedures . fig8 is a message flow diagram schematically illustrating principle messages exchanged between components of the networks shown in fig1 or 2 in an example of providing the directed call establishment service . in this example , a b - party using the mobile handset 100 dials an a - party &# 39 ; s number ( 400 ). a - party in this example is using a pstn telephone 88 , but could be using a fixed - line telephone connected to a pstn or voip network , or a mobile device connected to any one of a plmn , wi - fi , wi - max or voip network . when b - party launches a new call using the mobile handset 100 , the application client 102 intercepts the call launch ( 402 ) and determines whether the number is on the exclusion list , as explained above with reference to fig5 . the application client 102 then prepares a dce request message and sends it to the csn 20 ( 404 ) using data messaging techniques well known in the art . the dce request message includes location information , a - party &# 39 ; s number and the handset identification , as also described above with reference to fig5 . on receipt of the dce request message , the dce application 88 extracts the information sent in the dce request message , and uses the location information by applying an algorithm to select a dce / dn from a dce / dn number pool ( 406 ). the dce application 88 then stores the handset identification and the called number with the dce / dn ( 408 ). as soon as that information is stored , the dce application 88 formulates a dce response message and passes it to the csn 20 , which sends the dce response message to the mobile handset 100 ( 410 ). the dce response message contains the dce / dn . when the mobile handset 100 receives the dce response message , the application client 102 launches a call to the dce / dn ( 412 ) provided by the csn 20 in the dce response message sent at 410 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the user of the mobile handset 100 assumes that the call launched at 412 is the call placed to a - party , because the process described above is entirely transparent to the user of the mobile handset 100 . when the call is launched , the dce / dn is sent over the pstn signaling channel ( 414 ) to a mobile switching center ( msc ) 92 that is currently serving the mobile handset 100 . the msc 92 translates the dce / dn using translation tables well known in the art and determines that an integrated services user digital part ( isup ) initial address message ( iam ) should be sent over a trunk that will direct the message to a media gateweay 96 associated with the dce / dn . the msc 92 therefore formulates the iam and forwards it towards the media gateweay 96 ( 416 ). on receipt of the iam , the media gateway 96 translates the dce / dn and determines that it points to the csn 20 . the media gateway 96 therefore formulates a sip invite message and sends it to the csn 20 ( 418 ). the sip invite message contains a called number equal to the dce / dn ; and indication that the call originated from b - party ; and a rtp port number to be used for the b - party connection . on receipt of the sip invite , the csn 20 returns a sip 100 trying message ( 420 ) to the media gateway 96 . meanwhile , the csn 20 passes the dce / dn to the dce application 88 which performs dce / dn correlation ( 424 ) with dce / dn records stored at 408 to retrieve the information stored at that time . after finding a matching dce / dn and retrieving the stored information , the dce application 88 passes it to the csn 20 , which formulates a sip invite message that it sends to the media gateway 96 ( 426 ). the sip invite message contains a called number equal to the a - party number ; an indication that the call is from the mobile handset 100 ; and , the b - party rtp port number provided in the sip invite at 418 . the media gateway 96 returns a sip 100 trying message ( 428 ). the media gateway 96 then responds by formulating an iam message , which it sends into the pstn signaling network ( 430 ). the iam includes a calling party number equal to the handset identification , and a called party number equal to the called number , i . e ., the a - party number . the called party number causes the iam to be routed to the pstn end office 98 , which serves a - party telephone 88 . the pstn end office 98 verifies that the telephone 88 is on - hook and responds with an address complete message ( acm ) ( 431 ). the pstn end office 98 then applies ringing ( 434 ) to the line that supports the telephone 8 . on receipt of the acm at 431 , the media gateweay 96 sends a sip 180 ringing message ( 433 ) to the csn 20 , which forwards returns a sip 180 ringing message towards the b - party ( 434 ). the media gateway 96 responds by returning an address complete message ( acm ) to the msc 92 ( 435 ), and ringing applied by the pstn end office 90 ( 436 ) is heard by b - party . meanwhile , on hearing the ringing applied at 432 , a - party takes the telephone 88 off - hook ( 437 ) and an off - hook signal is returned to the pstn end office 98 ( 438 ). on receipt to the off - hook signal , in the pstn end office 98 formulates an answer message ( anm ) and sends it to the media gateway 96 ( 440 ). on receipt of the anm , the media gateway formulates a sip 200 ok message and sends that to the csn 20 ( 442 ). the csn 20 then returns a sip 200 ok message ( 444 ) corresponding to the sip invite received at 418 . the media gateway responds by sending an anm to the msc 92 ( 446 ). thereafter b - party is connected to a - party via the media gateway 96 ( 448 ), and the call signaling path extends through the csn 20 . this anchors the call at the csn 20 and permits the csn 20 to exercise control over the call if and when required or requested to do so . the invention thereby provides a simple , reliable and economical mechanism for permitting cellular service providers to support enhanced call services for their roaming subscribers without the use of service level agreements , which entail complex negotiations , costly network provisioning , and the like . the invention also reduces costs for service providers and service subscribers by routing cellular calls through a most appropriate gateway to a packet data network where the call is anchored in a converged services node , which can then exercise control over the call in order to provide the enhanced call services . it should be understood that the above - described networks , equipment and algorithms are exemplary only . the scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims .

7Electricity

fig1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention , and fig2 is a chart of waveforms at various points for illustrating the operation of the same circuit . in fig1 , elements having the same function as those in fig7 showing a conventional power converter are denoted by the same reference symbols , and explanations of those elements are omitted . the first embodiment of the present invention differs from the power converter of fig7 in that it is provided with a switching device control signal generator 7 a and a control scheme decision unit 9 . gs 1 to gs 4 in fig2 are the gate driving voltage waveforms for switching devices s 1 to s 4 shown in fig1 , vs 1 to vs 4 are the drain - source voltage waveforms for switching devices s 1 to s 4 , and vt is a primary winding voltage waveform for the transformer 6 . the switching devices s 1 to s 4 are driven by gate signals generated by the switching device control signal generator 7 a . as a result , the dc voltage of the dc power supply 5 is converted to ac voltage and applied to the primary side winding of the transformer 6 . the alternating current that arises in the secondary side winding of the transformer 6 is rectified to direct current by the diodes 10 to 13 . this direct current is smoothed by a smoothing circuit composed of an inductor 14 and a capacitor 15 , and fed to a load 16 . here , the power converter shown in fig1 ( dc / dc converter ) differs from the power converter shown in fig7 in that the control scheme for the primary side switching devices s 1 to s 4 is switched in accordance with the output current value ( load current value ). hence , the present invention is configured in such a way that the primary side current value in the transformer 6 is detected with a load current detector 8 and input to the control scheme decision unit 9 . fig2 shows the voltage waveforms at the switching devices when the current flowing to the load 16 has been detected as being at or below a specific current value , i . e ., when the load current is a light load or no load , and control of the switching devices s 1 to s 4 has been switched to a pwm scheme . that is , at time t 1 , switching devices s 1 and s 4 turn on and the current flows over the following path : s 1 → inductor 20 → transformer 6 → s 4 . at this time , the voltage vt on the primary side winding of the transformer 6 becomes [+ ed ]. at time t 3 , switching devices s 2 and s 3 turn on and the current flows over the following path : switching device s 3 → transformer 6 → inductor 20 → switching device s 2 . that is , the current flows in the reverse direction to time t 1 . at this time , the voltage vt on the primary side winding of the transformer 6 becomes [− ed ]. at time t 2 and time t 4 , all of the switching devices s 1 to s 4 are turned off . at these times , the voltages at switching devices s 1 to s 4 oscillate about [ ed / 2 ] due to resonance between the parasitic capacitances at s 1 to s 4 and the inductor 20 . when the power fed to the load 16 is large , i . e ., at a heavy load where the ratio of the load current value to the rated current value is 100 %, 75 % or 50 %, the load current value detected at the load current detector 8 is large . hence , the control scheme detection unit 9 selects the phase shift scheme . the control signal generator 7 a decides how much to shift the phase of the reference pulse in accordance with the current value that is detected , and carries out on / off control of the switching devices s 1 to s 4 . on the other hand , when the power fed to the load 16 is small , i . e ., at a light load when the ratio of the load current value to the rated current value is 10 % or 20 %, or in a no - load state , the load current value detected at the load current detector 8 is small . the control scheme decision unit 9 thus selects the pwm scheme , and sends a signal to the control signal generator 7 a indicating that the pwm scheme was selected . in the pwm scheme , the period in which the switching devices s 1 to s 4 ( mosfets ) are all in an off state is long . during off state , switching devices s 1 and s 2 and switching devices s 3 and s 4 , depending on the ratios of the parasitic capacitances held by each , oscillate about ½ the dc power supply 5 voltage [ ed ] ( when the parasitic capacitances of the switching devices s 1 to s 4 are the same ) owing to resonance with the inductor 20 . by adding the positive voltage [ ed / 2 ] ( excluding the oscillating component ) between the drain and source of each mosfet of switching devices s 1 to s 4 , a state wherein reverse voltage has been added to the body diode ( not shown in fig1 ) within each mosfet is maintained . hence , the reverse - direction voltage added to the body diode does not fall below 0 v . for this reason , forward current does not flow to the body diode ; nor does a reverse recovery current arise . even if a hard switching operation does arise according due to the pwm scheme at a light - load or no - load time , because the current value is small , the increase in switching loss , such as turn - on loss and turn - off loss , is minimal . that is , because the power converter control scheme according to the present invention has been configured so as switch from a phase shift control scheme to a pulse width modulation scheme at a light - load time or no - load time , the reverse recovery current generated in a phase shift scheme can be suppressed . therefore , the present invention is able to achieve a higher power converter efficiency without generating a reverse recovery and in particular without increasing the number of switching devices . on the other hand , if a phase shift control scheme is employed at a light - load time , as explained above , switching device 2 turns on when the voltage vs 1 of switching device 1 is near zero and the voltage vs 2 of switching device 2 is near [ ed ]. yet , upon conversion to the pwm scheme , because all the off periods become longer , when switching device 2 is on , the voltage vs 1 of switching device 1 rises above a near - zero value and the voltage vs 2 of switching device 2 falls below a near -[ ed ] value . as a result , the discharge loss of parasitic capacitance when the switching device 2 is on can be reduced . in addition , when switching device 2 is on , the current ( which flows over the following path : dc power supply 5 → switching device 1 parasitic capacitance → switching device 2 → dc power supply 5 ) which charges the parasitic capacitance of switching device 1 up to [ ed ] also decreases , thus enabling a reduction in the switching device 2 turn - on loss as well . in the power converter control scheme according to the present invention , the switching device control signal generator 7 a and the control scheme decision unit 9 can be suitably created using , for example , hardware equipment or microcomputers . also , in the above - described embodiment , the load current value was detected as the current which flows to the primary side of the transformer 6 , although it may of course be detected instead as the current which flows to the secondary side of the transformer 6 . fig3 is a chart of waveforms at various points for illustrating a second embodiment according to the present invention . the circuit configuration is the same as in fig7 . fig3 shows an embodiment in which the times t 2 and t 4 when all the switching devices are off was regulated , and the switching devices were set so as to turn on when the switching device voltage had approached a minimum value . for example , the on timing of switching device 2 is regulated so that the switching device 2 turns on when the voltage vs 2 has approached a minimum value . however , if the positive side and negative side voltage time products applied to the transformer are not equal , the transformer magnetizes and excess current flows , damaging the circuit device . hence , the on timing of switching device 2 must be regulated with condition t 1 = t 3 being satisfied . accordingly , the sum of time t 2 and time t 4 is set constant and the ratio between times t 2 and t 4 is regulated . for example , if the on timing of switching device 2 is advanced , the off timing must be advanced by exactly the same amount of time in order to avoid a magnetic saturation . in this way , the voltage of the switching device at the turn - on time can be adjusted to be small . for this reason , as is apparent also from formula ( 1 ), the energy that has accumulated in the parasitic capacitance of the switching device 2 becomes small . also , the loss consumed at the turn - on time decreases . at the same time , the voltage vs 1 of the switching device 1 varies as shown in formula ( 2 ) below . that is , when the voltage vs 2 is a minimum , the voltage vs 1 becomes a maximum . in other words , when the voltage vs 2 is a minimum , the difference between [ ed ] and [ vs 1 ] becomes small . as a result , the current ( which flows over the following path in fig7 : dc power supply 11 → switching device 1 parasitic capacitance → switching device 2 → dc power supply 11 ) that charges the parasitic capacitance at switching device 1 when switching device 2 is turned on becomes small . also , turn - on loss at the switching device 2 is reduced . because the energy of the parasitic capacitance that charges / discharges at the turn - on time can be reduced , noise generation can be suppressed . the inventive method for controlling a power converter thus enables operation to be carried out without adversely affecting other equipment . in the present embodiment , the ratio between times t 2 and t 4 is altered by shifting the on timing and off timing of the switching device 2 . however , in the inventive method for controlling a power converter , operation may be similarly carried out even by shifting the control timing of another switching device . fig4 shows a chart of operation waveforms corresponding to claim 4 . in this embodiment 3 , the switching frequency is regulated in such a way that a switching device turns on when the voltage of the switching device approaches a minimum value . for example , when the switching frequency is made high , each of the times t 0 to t 5 becomes short ; conversely , when the switching frequency is made low , each of the times t 0 to t 5 becomes long . however , the resonance period of the switching device voltage at times t 2 and t 4 when the switching devices are off is determined by the circuit constant or the parasitic component , and is fixed . therefore , by regulating the switching frequency , it is possible to regulate the turn - on timing in such a way that the switching device turns on when the switching device voltage approaches a minimum value . as a result , actions and effects similar to those in embodiment 2 are achieved . fig5 shows an example of a main circuit according to this invention , and fig6 shows an operation waveform chart for illustrating another embodiment of this invention . fig6 is a diagram showing an example in which , by regulating the on periods of switching devices 1 and 4 shown in fig7 , control was carried out so as to achieve actions and effects similar to those in embodiment 2 . for example , switching device 2 is turned on at a timing where the voltage vs 2 becomes a minimum , along with which the timing at which switching device 2 turns off is regulated so that the switching device 1 turns on when the voltage vs 1 of switching device 1 becomes a minimum . however , the control signal for switching device 1 at this time is not regulated . in this case , because the on timing and off timing of switching device 2 are both regulated , the control pulse width of switching device 2 changes and the lengths of times t 1 and t 3 do not agree , creating the possibility of transformer magnetization . hence , as shown in fig5 , a capacitor 21 is inserted on the primary side of the transformer 6 so as to eliminate the dc component of the primary side voltage in the transformer 6 . in this way , the circuit device can be safely operated without magnetization of the transformer . this embodiment , by shifting the on timing and off timing of switching device 2 , arranges for the respective switching devices to turn on when the voltage vs 1 of switching device 1 and the voltage vs 2 of switching device 2 become minimum values . in this embodiment , similar operation occurs even when the on timing and off timing of another switching device 2 are shifted , resulting in similar effects . to keep the output voltage constant even when the output power and output current fluctuate , it is necessary to vary what may be referred to as the “ conduction ratio ,” that is , the ratio between the times t 1 , t 3 and t 5 when the switching devices are on and the times t 2 and t 4 when they are off . hence , in the present embodiment , even when the conduction ratio varies with changes in the output power or output current , because the on timing is changed so that the switching device voltage approaches a minimum value as provided for in claim 7 , higher efficiency and lower noise can be achieved over a broad operating range . such control can easily be achieved by digital control ; that is , by storing in the power converter as precontrolled variables an on timing regulation variable and a switching frequency change variable . the inventive method for controlling a power converter is thus capable of carrying out control , with specific regulation variables , according to the detected values for output power and output current . in the present embodiment , as in embodiment 1 , at the time of a heavy load , soft switching is achieved by carrying out phase shift operation , and at the time of a light load , a pwm scheme is carried out . in this way , operation can be safely carried out without exceeding the limit value for the voltage change ratio ( dv / dt ). moreover , by applying this invention , not only is it possible to reduce loss in a pwm scheme at the time of a light load , loss over a broad load range can also be reduced . the regulation of on timing and off timing is readily achievable by , for example , the use of ordinary digital control and shift registers . the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof . it will be understood , however , that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims .

7Electricity

before turning to a more detailed description of the invention , the present invention is illustrated as being embodied in a network 102 as shown in fig1 . the network may be the internet and may be , for example , connected to the users in any suitable manner , such as by way of traditional broadband , satellite , wilan , cable or utility power lines . in the present invention a real - time pricing signal is continuously transmitted over the network 102 over a predetermined period of time . the network may be connected to homes 104 and / or smart appliances 106 and power generators and / or power generator utilities . as shown in fig1 , the supply side may be connected to the demand side via a consumer portal and building ems 106 , through utility communications channels 108 or via satellite 110 . there further may be control interfaces 112 or advanced metering systems 114 that are used to assist in the orchestration of the supply / demand relationship by , for example , controlling local appliance or reporting metering information . in addition , the power generators may include solar or wind mills 116 and the smart appliances may be smart end - user devices , plug in hybrid cars or distributed generation storage systems 118 , for example . it shall be appreciated that one skilled in the art will know how to instruct a processor of a smart appliance in order to turn on or off the respective appliance in response to a pricing signal . for that matter , it is well within the capability of the skilled person to implement the invention in terms of software to be executed , wholly or in part , by a computer and store the instructions therefore on a computer readable medium . now a discussion of the mechanics of the invention will ensue by first considering the supply - side of the power equation . thereafter , a discussion of concrete example will be set forth to describe the invention in full detail . importantly , supply side generation of electricity is responsible for approximately ⅓ to ½ of primary energy consumption . for example , of all the energy consumed in new york state in 2005 , 38 % was used for the generation of electricity . in other words , the type of power generators for the electrical power is a predictable quantity and the invention aims at resourcing these generators . although , it should be clear at this point that the invention also is applicable to any type of power source . according to one implementation , for example , the invention increases efficiency of electrical generation by placing the demand right where the supply of power is at its optimal efficiency output . this reduces overall fuel consumption , forestalls building of new power plants , and / or has a positive impact on reducing greenhouse gases . the details of this effect of the invention will be described in more detail with references to the exemplary models below . the invention in another implementation puts to use renewable energy sources . observing fig2 , which shows united states electrical energy production ‘ supply - side ’ statistics , it can be plainly seen that renewable energy contributes a relatively small amount of the power supply sources in the united states as compared with traditional power . by contrast , wind power is responsible for nearly 30 % of the total danish demand for electricity and approximately 16 % of germany &# 39 ; s demand . to put this in perspective , wind power alone covers the aggregate demand of 1 . 4 million danish homes , or in other words , the entire energy demand of western denmark . regrettably , the u . s . has a culture of on demand power supply , which is hard to fulfill by application of renewable energy sources . however , the fault is not all due to lifestyle but also on the conditions suitable for tapping into these renewable energy sources . wind and solar are temperamental and are not always available around the clock . while it is true that holland and denmark have a culture of energy conservation , these countries are also blessed with regions of high wind . in addition , the infrastructure for renewable energy resources in the u . s . is not yet fully manifested . smaller countries like holland and denmark have been able to accomplish more because they have the luxury of having a smaller country to deal with . for the same reasons , many european countries ( particularly those in eastern europe ) have been able to update their power grids to address modern ideals and available technologies . for all that , the u . s . may be in a unique position to benefit from the instant invention . given the size and mixed variety of power infrastructures in the u . s ., there is a very real need for orchestration of the supply of power to the demand for that powering america . while the u . s . has lagged behind european countries in the renewable energy sector , the possibilities of wind power in the u . s . are demonstrable . the state of texas , for example , has significant wind power production and is the largest producer of wind energy in the united states . thus , the capability is there . there only needs the means by which these resources can be adequately put to use in the u . s . the present invention seeks , in at least one implementation , to capitalize on these renewable energy resources and put them to efficient use in the overall power supply matrix . the present invention orchestrates these pockets of renewable energy and integrates them into the mainstream infrastructure . as the u . s . embraces renewable energy more and more , as it undoubtedly will , the solution provided herein is scalable and will be there to orchestrate these resources as well . as can be seen from fig3 , which shows total stored capacity in mw , wind power production in the u . s . is expected to more than double in the next four years . now is the time for a realizable integration of these renewable energy resources . the present invention timely provides this integration by orchestrating the supply and demand , and vice versa . while efforts to foster increased production from renewable resources such as wind and solar are much needed and welcome , there is a growing problem of how to search for uses of ( demands for ) renewable energy right at the time when it becomes available . for example , if it is particularly windy while people are sleeping , there is an immediate supply of power , but there may not be as high a demand for that power as compared to during daylight hours . as a result , countries such as denmark have reached an upper limit and have begun or soon will limit production of renewable energy . even the countries which have incorporated renewable energy sources into their infrastructure , there is still a need for the present invention to orchestrate those resources . the present invention does not simply catalyze the bringing on line of renewable resources , it orchestrates them and brings them into the infrastructure in such a way that they are utilized at their maximum efficiency . thus , countries like denmark will also benefit from use of the invention . the question is then , how can renewable energy be provided on demand when weather is a temperamental variable ? one could imagine that the energy from a renewable resource could be stored , such as in a battery . while the invention is workable with storage elements , a battery solution alone does not sufficiently address the problem of providing the demand for power right at the time when the power is readily available . for one thing , using batteries to store the power disconnects the causal link between the generators supplying power and the demand of that power . thus , a battery cannot dictate how long a generator should be on line to meet a certain amount of demand . nor can a battery maximize the efficiency of the output of a particular generator based on the demand . for that matter , the battery cannot predict what total amount of power will be needed and will likely fall short of adequately matching that demand to the renewable supply . because the causal connection between supply of power and its usage is disconnected , a battery system by itself is unable to match demand or power with supply of power as described herein . what is needed in addition is the present invention . thus far , the mechanics of supply and demand have been discussed in the overall power scheme . now continuing on , the mechanics of the building blocks by which the invention orchestrates that supply and demand will now be discussed . in one implementation of the invention , there is employed a network , such as an ip network 102 shown in fig1 , to orchestrate the supply and demand of power . for one thing , the invention uses the network to send a pricing signal in real - time to homes or appliances . in this manner , the invention communicates an availability ( i . e ., in terms of price ) of supply - side power generation capacity . as will be explained below , the invention further changes the price so that the demand - side for the power can utilize generation resources in the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly ways . as will further be explained , the invention indicates a price ( or prices for various or combine power supply sources ) that has the effect of shifting the demand to a time when resources are available or brought on line . the invention , thus , provides the demand in sufficient quantity to match an efficiency of a particular generator or combination of generators . to estimate the variable storage capacity on the demand - side , attention is directed to the various uses of energy in the home as shown in fig4 . some energy uses in the home such as lighting are required based on what users are doing ( herein referred to as activity dependant appliances or uses ) others are not . the present invention takes advantage of that distinction in one implementation by encouraging or deferring demand of power by user activity “ independent ” appliances , such as water heating and / or refrigeration appliances . of course , to some degree appliances such as hot water boilers and refrigerators are dependant on the user activity , however , less so than lighting appliances , and exhibit a certain amount of independence from the activity . these appliances tend to have a thermal storage capacity that allow them to provide energy on demand locally without demanding , or delay the demand , of power from an external source , such as a power plant . another feature to notice is that the independent activity appliances are more predictable over a certain period of time . in one implementation , the present invention can model uses based on independent activity appliances that illustrates this predictability for an aggregate number of appliances . that is not to say that the invention cannot create mappings of activity dependant appliances , in fact the invention is applicable to those appliances as well , given only the restraints of finding some commonality of behaviour of those appliances . for example , people tend to use lighting during the day as opposed to night time when they are asleep . in addition , the present invention operates at sufficiently frequent intervals to encourage or discourage demand . this has a significant positive impact on electrical demand without compromising the needs of users . for example , in one implementation , the invention schedules efficient generation for pre - cooling or pre - heating of living spaces , to cool millions of homes in southern climates before the occupants return on a summer evening , or heat homes in northern climates in anticipation of the workforce returning home . the methods presented here are a significant break away from the prior work on load shifting and load curtailment . peak shaving , for example , reduces the amount of electricity purchased for some period of time . sometimes this is accomplished by curtailment ( shutting down loads ), sometimes by load shifting ( thermal storage ) and sometimes by self - generation . much of this previous work has focused on shifting peak demand into the traditional diurnal valley so that a flatter demand curve results in lower requirements ( and costs ) for peak generation facilities . peak shifting could be achieved by creating a high pricing signal once a day during peak . in this peak - shifting scenario , every day at the same time peak pricing goes into effect which discourages usage . problematically , those users who can afford to pay peak pricing can choose to use as much as they want when they want , and may choose not to participate in load management at all . while a more expensive price of energy might help curtail demand by users during peak , a scenario that is not resolved is the impact on the less - fortunate and budget conscious users . a terrible negative effect of traditional peak pricing is that poor people simply cannot afford to use energy during peak . waiting until 2 : 00 am for the dishwasher to automatically start is a good thing , but would waiting until 2 : 00 am when the price of energy is low enough to , say , cook dinner , is not a feasible solution for the entire power demand market . a solution proposed by this invention to the problems encountered by load shifting is to change the price of energy to encourage or discourage use many ( many ) times throughout the day , for example as many as 8 - 10 times , in predictable ways . an implementation of the invention varies pricing enough so that demand is responsive , in other words that demand in the aggregate is incentivized to change its behaviour owing to pricing . in the same implementation , the invention may also consider the needs and budgets of the consumers whilst varying pricing in a demand responsive way . as mentioned already , providing various pricing changes throughout the day offers users of modest means to obtain the power they require at a time that is not inconvenient or would otherwise dramatically task that user &# 39 ; s stored energy waiting for pricing to drift downward . by making demand responsive to pricing , for example , by setting pricing to levels attainable by those of modest means or budget , the present invention does not simply cut off all demand as in peak shifting . with reference to fig5 - 10 , concrete examples of how the invention orchestrates , that is coordinates , supply - side power resources and demand - side power needs will be described . fig5 illustrates a model of generation supply capacity over a predetermined period of time , here 24 hours . in the figure each horizontal band is one or more ‘ chunks ’ of supply capacity . this model is somewhat simplified in that each of the types of power source , including combustion turbines , hydro electric energy , oil , coal and nuclear are illustrated in an arbitrary order . although , it could be observed that fig5 generally illustrates power sources that are arranged diagrammatically in order of ramp up time . for example , it is seen from the figure that the power sources , such as nuclear generators , which are less flexible and require a relatively long and complicated power up procedure , are arranged as base lines of energy , here shown as 20 % of the initial overall power needs or demand . these resources might account for user activity dependent demand , or on demand , such as lighting which requires an immediate supply of power when the user switches the light on and off throughout the day . on the other end of the power generator spectrum , we see more flexible generators that can meet on demand power needs arranged along the higher demand requirements as can be seen from fig4 . for example , hydro , combustion turbines , and / or spot market power generators represent power sources that may be brought online more quickly and with a relatively less complicated ramp up procedure . these more flexible resources may , as suggested by the figure , provide power for the remaining 60 %- 100 % of the aggregate demand . this demand may be , for example , power requirements for user activity independent appliances or uses , such as refrigerators and hot water boilers . now turning to the demand side of the equation , consider the simplified model of aggregate electrical demand shown , for example , by fig6 . the curve in fig6 may be the demand curve experienced by a winter peaking utility over a predetermined period of time , such as 24 hours . here it could be observed that the curve corresponds to one that is in a northern climate given the high electrical demand for space heating in the night hours . when night gives way to day , daily electric demand slowly falls in the morning and then rises steadily . the invention maps , or superimposes , the simplified supply and demand of power models in fig5 and 6 , to obtain fig7 . fig7 illustrates how the supply side operates throughout a predetermined period of time , here a 24 hour day , in order to meet the aggregate energy demand across large serving areas . the ‘ stair steps ’ in fig7 correspond to generators being brought on - line and off - line ( i . e ., starting up and shutting down ) throughout the day as aggregate demand rises and falls . steady state operation is illustrated where the lines are flat . it is to be noted that the highest output shown here is not necessarily the maximum output of the generator . it shall be appreciated that , for a particular power generator , a minimum efficiency of use occurs at point 702 when there is no demand for the power output . conversely , at point 704 , the demand almost matches the output of the power generator and yields a maximum efficiency of use as given by the equation efficiency = energy output / energy . one of the driving principles behind the present invention is to place or shift the aggregate demand right at the point where a generator is available to output at its maximum efficiency . it is to be appreciated that a certain amount of power , known in the industry as spinning reserve , is in practice in excess of instantaneous demand . of course , there are times when the output will overstep the spinning reserve upper ceiling . the spinning reserve provides capacity to meet unexpected demands and cover for generation or distribution failures . the spinning reserve is diagrammatically illustrated in fig7 at point 706 and , further , by the way the demand curve does not follow the boundary of the step curve . the aggregate demand curve shown in fig6 and 7 is predictable . in other words , the aggregate demand curve rises and falls with regularity from day to day , or over a certain time period . the curve may be said to have a markovian - like behavior . in other words , demand in the aggregate will generally be similar to the previous day . there may be exceptions caused by intervening events such as inconsistent weather , particularly , temperature swings that affect heating and cooling demands , weekdays versus weekend days , holidays , etc . in general , however , if the event is consistent from time period to time period a markovian like demand curve can be developed that is useful for prediction of future demand according to the present invention . for example , heat waves that last a number of days will affect the aggregate demand for a new , but predictable , demand curve . a region that receives sporadic rainfall could also have some predictable nature to its region &# 39 ; s demand curves . the invention matches this future predictability to supply resources . a markov process is defined as a stochastic process whose state at time t is x ( t ), for t & gt ; 0 , and whose history of states is given by x ( s ) for times s & lt ; t is a markov process if : pr [ x ( t + h )= y | x ( s )= x ( s ), vs ≦ t ]= pr [ x ( t + h )= y | x ( t )= x ( t )], vh & gt ; 0 equation 1 . that is , the probability of its having state y at time t + h , conditioned on having the particular state x ( t ) at time t , is equal to the conditional probability of its having that same state y but conditioned on its value for all previous times before t . pr [ x ( t + h )= y | x ( t )= x ]= pr [ x ( h )= y | x ( 0 )= x ], vt , h & gt ; 0 equation 2 . as mentioned above , the time period illustrated in the figures is merely representative and any time period can be selected . for example , given a particular weather pattern , it will make sense to select a time period that is either shorter or longer than a day . as long as the time period supports a pattern of predictable demand , the invention can operate to predict demand for future periods of time . to continue , the present invention takes advantage of the predictability of demand in the aggregate . as can be seen from fig5 - 8 , the present invention maps an aggregate demand curve within a period of time that is sufficient to demonstrate a predictability . by moving or shifting the demand for power according to the present invention , the supply side output can be more closely tracked , as illustrated by the steps formed in the shifted demand curve shown in fig8 . in other words , supply capacity of the power plants is more efficiently utilized . in the context of fig1 , a real time pricing signal is issued over the network 102 to homes 104 and / or to appliances such as hot water heaters , refrigerators and other appliances 106 . as will be further described , the various appliances have a typical duty cycle schedule that describes the energy consumption of the particular appliance in terms of duty timing and firing rate . based in part on the duty cycle schedule and the pricing signal , which is issued continuously over a period of time , it is decided whether or not to delay firing of the particular device . in the aggregate , these appliances in the cause demand which is shifted to a time when there is an optimal amount of power being output , possibly from a combination of power sources . in this manner , aggregate demand can be much more controlled . the demand ‘ follows ’ ( or accommodates ) the stair - stepped suply - side capacity as shown in fig8 thereby matching demand to supply , not vice versa . it shall be appreciated that this arrangement is contrary to conventional supply chasing demand . as already mentioned , an amount of spinning reserve must also be taken into account . the present invention , in one or more implementations , adjusts for the spinning reserve by matching aggregated demand to maximum plant efficiency less the spinning reserve as shown in fig7 . matching of the aggregate demand will be discussed in more detail . suffice to say at this stage that the point at which it is chosen to shift the demand is when the respective power generator is outputting power at the optimal quantity offsetting for spinning reserve . it will be appreciated that the precise amount of spinning reserve is a predetermined parameter that is specific to the particular power generator and will only be discussed as a variable herein without specific reference to the ratings of any particular generator . that these ratings are specific to the various utilities , which can be easily attained therefrom . in fig8 the overall energy usage ( i . e ., the integral or area under the curve ) is similar to that shown fig7 . while the pricing signal might or might not discourage overall usage in a 24 hour day , it definitely does discourage and encourage energy use at several times throughout the day . this is done to forestall bringing generating capacity online and then once brought online to move said capacity to its maximum output and efficiency as quickly as possible . the duration of time that a facility might be forestalled in coming online might be any period of time . in the meantime another power generator might be selected to meet more immediate need . thus , the invention can provide a delay that is deminimus to most power uses , such as a few to tens of minutes . this is done because too long a delay in meeting demand would unnecessarily burden users of modest income or budget because they would have to wait unreasonably long to , say , cook dinner or take a shower . as the more complex power generators come online , the invention can shift demand to those generators to meet additional demand not met by the more flexible generators . the ability to delay the start of such a facility and then within minutes to bring it to near its maximum output clearly has a significant fuel environmental savings . certainly some types of generators can come on - line and off - line more quickly than others , gas turbines being the most agile and perhaps nuclear plants being the least . and as previously stated there must be sufficient spinning reserve at all times . bringing these on line on when the demand is aggregated enough to match a maximum efficiency of one or more power generators , avoids both wasting energy keeping power generators online but idle or operating the power generators at lower efficiencies . in other words , by way of the present invention , less energy overall is needed to meet the power demands of users because less energy is wasted . that means in a very real sense , energy is conserved and less global warming emissions are created , thereby helping to slow the global warming problem . now that the mechanics of the invention have been described in sufficient detail , we now turn to specifics that will be described with reference to fig9 a . fig9 a illustrates a duty cycle schedule of a typical hot water heater . in another sense , fig9 a may also be considered to illustrate the energy storage capability of demand - side appliances . to be certain , a hot water heater consumes power . however , that very same heater at any time typically is holding and maintaining thermal energy . in that sense , the aggregate of a number of such hot water heaters could be considered as a sort of energy source , itself a power generator . while hot water heaters cannot be used as a source of power , they can be thought of as storing energy . in this sense , how much energy a particular hot water heater has left can be used to determine when the hot water heater should fire in comparison to a pricing signal . when , for example , the hot water heater has sufficient energy to provide a hot shower , for example , at a time when showers are expected to be demanded according to the duty cycle schedule , there may be a decision to delay firing for a few minutes with no real change in performance output . in other words , the user experiences a hot shower without ever knowing that the hot water boiler firing timing was delayed . the delay in demand of power is transparent to the end user . turning now to a more specific discussion of the hot water boiler modeled by fig9 a , there is seen , starting at the left side , a decline in water temperature from an upper limit of approximately 110 ° down to 95 ° over the period from near midnight to approximately 6 : 00 am . the relatively constant slope of the temperature line over this period indicates that no water has been drawn from the tank . at 6 : 00 am the water heater fires for a short duration to bring the output temperature back up from its lower limit , and fires again around 8 : 00 am to accommodate the demand for hot water being drawn from the tank . perhaps someone took a shower or did some laundry and / or dishes . of course , this duty cycle schedule is merely indicative of the power consumption of a typical hot water heater , and any other duty cycle schedule might be replaced with the one shown in fig9 a . continuing with the example , fig9 b shows a portion of the duty cycle schedule of fig9 a in more granularity over a six hour period . from this figure , it can be seen that the firing cycle ( assuming here that hot water is not being drawn ) is approximately 30 minutes in duration . again , fig9 a and 9 b are mere examples and any other firing timing could be substituted for that shown . referencing fig9 a and b , it can be estimated that the duty cycle of the residential hot water heater in standby mode ( where it assumed that no hot water is being drawn ) is approximately 30 minutes every 6 hours =˜ 8 %. accounting for additional firings during periods of hot water usage results in an estimated hot water heater duty cycle of ˜ 10 % over a 24 hour day . said another way , at any given point in time , 1 in 10 hot water heaters will be firing . considering there are approximately 110 million homes in the united states , roughly 11 million hot water heaters are firing around the clock , with even more expected to be firing before the morning rush hour and after the evening rush hour . when one considers the enormous impact that shifting demand has , one then understands the great potential for the present invention to both save costs for everyone concerned and help to save the environment at the same time . the invention tends to have an affect on demand in the aggregate , although the invention could also be used for less than an aggregate of appliances . in addition , the aggregate may represent a specific type of appliances or , more likely , a combination of types of appliances . it shall be noticed that the present invention is directed to aggregating demand on the appliance level , in contrast say to total demand from a user , ie , by reading meter data of that user . in that regard , the invention understands a picture of how appliances react over a course of time and , depending on their type , can price them out of the market for a specific period of time . in other words , the invention shifts demand on the appliance level , as opposed to the user level . of course , the invention can affect a combination of types of appliances , however , it does so by determining the demand on an appliance type . in one implementation aggregate of demand is calculated according to equation 3 . for example , if ⅓ of the 11 million hot water heaters in the u . s . are electrically fired , then at least 3 . 7 million electric hot water heaters can be managed at any given point in time . given that the typical electric hot water heater has a 4 . 5 kw demand when firing , the aggregate electrical demand of heating hot water is 16 . 5 gw ( gigawatts ) as indicated in equation 1 . this is a large amount of demand , representing approximately 22 % of the 73 . 9 gw of worldwide electrical supply from wind power at the end of 2006 . in terms of our instant example , the total aggregate demand for water heaters is the number of water heaters × percentage appliance duty cycle ( 10 %)× percentage firing timing ( 33 %)× wattage or , in our example , the present invention determines a typical duty cycle schedule over a period of time that is sufficiently long to provide a predictable demand curve such as the one shown in fig9 a . in this example , the duty cycle schedule is modelled for hot water heaters , but any type of appliance may similarly be modelled . thus far , an aggregate demand is calculated from the duty cycle schedule along with other parameters , such as the total number of appliances belonging to the demand group and firing timing over the period of interest . the aggregate demand , which may be for one or more types of appliances , is then compared , or mapped onto , such as shown in fig7 , with the a power supply - side curve . and it is determined then if a suitable supply of power is available from any of the power generators , or if , for example , power generators need to be brought online . if power generators need to be brought on - line , it is also determined how fast the particular generator or generators need to be brought up to maximum efficiency from the supply side curves of fig5 or 7 . as earlier mentioned , the generators that need to be brought on line may be renewable energy power sources such as , for example , wind power generators . these wind power generators also have a known typical operation time , i . e ., when wind typically is blowing in a particular region , and a model such as that shown in fig6 is developed . the demand would then be shifted then to the time when the wind power generators are in operation , i . e ., when the wind is blowing . in continuing with our example , the pricing signal is modified to discourage demand until such time that the supply side is able to match the demand . in one implementation , it does so until the supply side is operating at maximum , or optimal , efficiency . in another implementation , the pricing signal may discourage demand for a few to tens of minutes as mentioned above in order to give people of modest means a chance to utilize the power at convenient times , i . e ., rather than having to wait hours to cook dinner or take a shower , for example . in our hot water boiler example , users do not have to wait to take a hot shower . in still another implementation , the invention selects the time period according to the thermal storage capacity of a particular type of appliance or appliances . in regards to the hot water boiler example , there already may be sufficient hot water in the boiler for a shower such that the delay of demand , i . e ., switching the hot water boiler on is unnoticeable to the end user . in yet another implementation , the demand for power is discouraged because of infrastructure failures and is represented in the form of the supply side curve showing a lack of ability to presently provide power . those generators that can be brought online automatically will be by operation of the present invention and will be distributed the demand , i . e ., rather than the defunct or out of commission power generators . indeed , the present invention in this implementation will shift demand away from defunct power sources . the present invention , in yet another implementation , uses modes of operation to control aggregate demand by automatically adjusting the real - time price transmitted to end uses such as appliances that can start and stop at will based on the default set of user preferences . when electricity is inexpensive , heater will come on early and stay on longer . for example , a dishwasher may not choose to wait until after midnight when energy is less expensive . when energy is more expensive , on the other hand , a hot water heater may not choose to run until after its internal temperature has fallen some number of degrees below its normal ‘ start ’ temperature . likewise an a hot water heater that is already running may choose to stop before reaching it &# 39 ; s normal ‘ stop ’ temperature . the present invention provides for modes of operating the appliances that is implemented by an operating band that is either shifted upward or downward based on the pricing signal . in other words , the invention can effect delaying a start and a premature stop of the appliance by moving the operating band with the pricing signal . fig9 c and d illustrate examplary modes of operation , which include an inexpensive mode as shown in fig9 c and an expensive mode as shown in fig9 d . to explain , the inexpensive mode of operation of fig9 c indicates how the appliance should react during inexpensive pricing of electrical energy . conversely , fig9 d indicates how the appliance should operate during expensive pricing of electrical energy . of course , these figures are merely examples and any duty cycle and boundary conditions may be set . more specifically with reference to fig9 c , the duty cycle schedule of fig9 a is again shown here , but this time with an operating band 902 overlayed on the duty cycle schedule . the operating band indicates a region where the appliance is in operation and includes an upper and lower limit 904 a , b . the upper and lower limits may be set by the user or home owner of the appliance . the lower limit indicates the point at which the appliance is to switch on and the upper limit indicates when the appliance is to switch off . these may be set by the user in advance or preset through the network ( 102 , fig1 ) for the various pricing situations . of course , more than two modes of operation may be provided for with many different upper and lower limits . during inexpensive pricing , the user may not mind spending money for energy and would be willing to pay for hotter water . hence , the operation band boundary conditions are shifted upward . fig9 c shows that the operating band has a lower limit of 100 degrees f . and an upper limit of 115 degrees f . in other words , the appliance , in this case a hot water boiler , switches on when the internal water temperature falls below 100 degrees f . and switches off when it reaches 115 degrees f . during expensive pricing , the user may indeed mind spending money for energy and would not be as willing to pay for hotter water . hence , the operation band boundary conditions are shifted downward . fig9 d shows that the operating band has a lower limit of approx 90 degrees f . and an upper limit of 105 degrees f . in other words , the appliance , in this case a hot water boiler , switches on when the internal water temperature falls below 90 degrees f . and switches off when it reaches 105 degrees f . to reiterate , the present invention in this implementation shifts demand by shifting the operating band of the appliance upward or downward according to the modes of operation by setting the pricing accordingly . it will be appreciated that the hot water boiler of fig9 c and 9 d are mere examples and that any appliance may include this feature . for example , the modified start / stop operating band can also be applied to refrigeration processes . for example , when energy is inexpensive , a fridge will adjust it &# 39 ; s upper and lower limits to start prematurely ( at a higher temperature ) and stop after cooling to a lower than normal temperature . the present invention can also use modes of operation to effectuate thermal energy storage . thermal energy storage is achieved by automatically adjusting the upper and lower temperature limits of end uses such as space heating and cooling , heating hot water , and refrigeration . for example , by raising pricing , the invention causes hot water boiler appliances to shift the operating band lower , which causes the hot water boiler to wait until later to turn on . in other words , the present invention caused that hot water boiler to store thermal energy . fig1 illustrates the method 1000 by which the example above carries out the invention . as discussed above , the invention in step 1002 determines a duty cycle schedule . as described , the duty cycle schedule is determined for a predetermined period of time that is sufficient in duration or length to provide a duty cycle schedule of a group of appliances that is predictable from time period to time period . in the next step 1004 , the pricing signal , which is transmitted in real - time continuously of the period of time , is modified to encourage of discourage demand for power on the basis of an amount of currently available power and the duty cycle schedule . in step 1006 , the demand for power is shifted to a time when the power generator ( s ) are brought on line and operated at a maximum efficiency as indicated in step 1008 . the orchestration of supply of power and demand for power may be controlled by a third entity , i . e ., not the utilities and not the end users . the third entity may use , for example , a data management system , dynamic systems control and distributed operations equipment 112 . turning now to another example , the orchestration of supply of power to demand for power of refrigerators will now be described . as in the earlier example , a duty cycle schedule ( step 1002 , fig1 ) for a typical refrigerator is similarly be determined for a period of time that provides a predictability about that demand and that includes information about the firing timing and power consumption of the appliance . an aggregate demand is calculated according to equation 3 . one of the best estimates of the duty cycle for all properly working ‘ energy star ’ refrigerators is about 50 %. auto defrost models have a secondary duty cycle which amounts to about 10 minutes operation over a 18 - 36 hour period . this cycle draws a large amount of energy during that time , but compared to the compressor operation , impact on load is negligible . the storage capacity of refrigerators is significant , especially in hot climates . for example , florida &# 39 ; s hot and humid climate challenges even the best refrigerators . not surprisingly , refrigerators guzzle a lot of electricity in florida ( on average about 200 watts each ). with roughly 7 million refrigerators in the state of florida , for example , the average , or aggregate , demand of these units exceeds 1 gw . the aggregate demand is mapped or compared to the supply side curve and it is determined whether an instantaneous demand for power is capable of being met or whether output is at an efficient level . on this basis , it is determined to encourage or discourage demand in order to keep that demand where it is or shift it to a time when it is best matching to a maximum efficiency of output . the pricing signal is modified ( step 1004 , fig1 ) to encourage or discourage the demand for power and the demand is shifted ( step 1006 , fig1 ) to a time when the power generator ( s ) are operating at maximum efficiency ( step 1008 , fig1 ). the present invention also adjusts for the wastefulness of older technology . over 25 % of the refrigerators are old and inefficient — built before the advent of recent appliance efficiency standards . about 5 % of them are replaced each year . providing more efficiency from the supply side or from an intermediary infrastructure that orchestrates supply of power and demand for that power greatly cuts down on the wastefulness of those outdated refrigerators . again , it is important to note that at almost any time , an expensive or inexpensive price of electricity could have been sufficient incentive for refrigerators to delay or accelerate compressor operation by 10 or more minutes without having a noticeable impact on food temperature or longevity . in other words , the end user , particularly in the case of appliances with a high energy retention , does not notice the effect of the delay of the demand . here it is reiterated that the invention has a huge impact on environmentally harmful emissions . if 7 million florida refrigerators produce an average demand of 1 gw and northern - climate refrigerators use less energy , it is estimated that the 110 million refrigerators in the united states produce an average demand of ˜ 15 gw , or nearly 20 % of the 73 . 9 gw worldwide electrical supply from wind power at the end of 2006 . with the present invention , a renewable energy power source could be better integrated into that supply scheme , thereby reducing harmful emissions . advancements in refrigerator technology will yield two - speed or variable - speed ‘ always on ’ compressors that will be managed similarly . refrigerators will be encouraged to shift from low to high - speed , or vice versa , based on real - time energy prices . in that case , such smart appliances are controlled directly on the bases of those real - time prices that are sent out continuously over the predetermined period of time . it should also be considered that the foregoing examples are not limited to aggregating demand for one type of appliance but that one or more types of appliances may provide the aggregate demand . it is a matter only of determining the typical duty cycle schedule for the various types of appliances and using the formula 3 . similarly , the supply of power may be provided by one or more of the power generators . the examples provided were specific to electric utilities , though real - time control of demand is immediately applicable also to the transmission and distribution infrastructures of electric , gas and / or water utilities as well . in conclusion of the exemplary description of the invention , the magnitude of demand that can be managed using real - time pricing according to the present invention is quantifiable and significant . together , united states residential electric hot water heaters and refrigerators produce an average demand equivalent to approximately 40 - 45 % of the worldwide electrical supply from wind power at the end of 2006 . if even a fraction of the demand in the u . s . could be shifted to wind power sources , the present invention would have enormous benefit on the environment . the opportunities to orchestrate supply and demand of power are very real . there are significant advantages in reducing burning of fossil - fuels , emissions of pollutants , and forestalling the building of new power plants . and there is the possibility that renewable resources such as solar and wind power can search for and , essentially , create demand in real - time and hence be used more extensively and efficiently . although the present invention has immediate benefits to the environment , as technology expands into our everyday life the benefits of the present invention will further extend our energy resources and conserve our climate . in time , all of the infrastructure needed to fully maximize the benefit of the present invention will be in place . all of the technology is already there to implement in - building energy controllers , internet protocol interfaces for appliances , and sensible appliance control algorithms to react appropriately to real - time pricing signals . the details of that technology is not necessary for practice of the present invention . further , the present invention is not limited to affecting the demand side , but is in fact an orchestration of the supply of power with the demand for power . in other words , the invention is capable of being used well beyond utilities &# 39 ; price signals that are sent out in search of smart appliances . in a much more all - encompassing way , the demand - side ( of homes and businesses in the future ) is also able to search the supply - side for lowest cost / most efficient alternatives to meet heating , cooling and electric energy needs . this will automatically occur and flow directly from the implementation of the invention when power sources are developed not only to include distant utilities but nearby cogeneration power plants in the basement , the neighborhood or the family &# 39 ; s hybrid car . the invention can then be used as before , treating those new sources of energy as any other type of power plant . the concept of the ‘ networked home ’ being ‘ plugged into the car ’ should be explored in the near future and it is anticipated that the invention will work just as meaningfully with those new sources of energy as with those of the 20 th century . if occupants or appliances in a home or business need , say , heat and electricity , the cheapest source may a local resource ( e . g ., a car ), a utility resource , or a combination of local and distant resources . the invention as described works also in this environment regardless of type of power source .

6Physics

the preferred embodiments are described herein in conjunction with an application of the invention for voice or data utilizing regular and hsdpa transmissions according to the third generation partnership project ( 3gpp ) wideband code division multiple access ( w - cdma ) communication system , which is an implementation of a universal mobile telecommunications system ( umts ). although 3gpp terminology is employed throughout this application , the 3gpp system is used only as an example and the invention may be applied to other wireless communications systems where measurement - based rrm is feasible . as used throughout the current specification , the terminology “ wireless transmit / receive unit ” ( wtru ) includes , but is not limited to , a user equipment , mobile station , fixed or mobile subscriber unit , pager , or any other type of device capable of operating in a wireless environment . these exemplary types of wireless environments include , but are not limited to , wireless local area networks and public land mobile networks . the terminology “ node b ” includes , but is not limited to , a base station , site controller , access point or any other type of interfacing device in a wireless environment . fig1 is a flow diagram of a procedure 20 for determining measurement values for use by rrm functions in accordance with the present invention . first , actual measurements and predictive values are received and stored in a database along with a timestamp of when they were received ( step 22 ). these measurements and values are received from different rrm functions such as call admission control , handover control , power control and radio link maintenance . regardless of whether they are actual system measurements or predictive values ( such as , for example , in the case of the call admission control function which predicts the system impact upon acceptance of a new call ), they are stored in a database . the rnc maintains the database of both the measurements and values and when they were stored . each time the rnc receives a measurement or value , it stores it in the database along with a timestamp corresponding to the time at which it is received . by doing so , the rnc can subsequently determine if measurements or values are available ( i . e ., stored in the database ) and if so , if they are valid with respect to their age ( i . e ., their age is less than a certain age threshold ). if an rrm measurement request has not been received as determined at step 30 , no further action is taken other than to continue to receive and store actual measurements and predictive values at step 22 . if a request for an rrm measurement has been received as determined at step 30 , the rnc reviews the database for the requested rrm measurement to determine whether the requested rrm measurement is available . measurements may be unavailable ( i . e ., they are not stored in the database ) either because no measurement report was sent or the measurement report was corrupted over the air interface . if actual system measurements are not available as determined at step 34 , a determination is made as to whether predictive values are available ( step 36 ). the predictive values ( m predicted ) are determined as follows . when certain rrm functions perform an action , they can predict what certain system measurements , ( such as interference or power ), will be once the action is performed . for example , one rrm function is the call admission control ( cac ) algorithm . the cac algorithm predicts what the interference and power will become once a call is added . if the predicted levels are acceptable , then the call is added ; if the predicted levels are unacceptable , then the call is denied . in accordance with the present invention , these predicted interference and power values ( along with other types of predicted values ) are then stored and used as predicted values for interference and power . since the prediction of rrm values is well known in the prior art for many different types of rrm functions , and the particular prediction method is not central to the present invention , it will not be described in detail hereinafter . if predictive values are available , the predictive values are used ( step 38 ), and if not , a default value is used ( step 40 ). a default value is a predetermined value which is established by historical conditions and or a series of measurements or evaluations . in essence , a default value is a predetermined value which is pre - stored and retrieved when desired . the default value is typically chosen such that rrm functions behave in a conservative way . if actual system measurements are available as determined at step 34 , then it is determined whether the actual system measurements are valid ( step 42 ). as aforementioned , with respect to the validity of actual system measurements , these measurements may be invalid because they are too old , or may be invalid because the system is in a transient phase and hence , the measurements do not accurately represent the state of the system . with respect to the age of a measurement , when a measurement report is received in the rnc database , it is assigned a timestamp . the timestamp corresponds to the time at which the measurement report was received . when the measurement is retrieved from memory , its timestamp is read . if the timestamp indicates that the measurement is older than a certain measurement age threshold ( e . g ., one second ), then the measurement is deemed invalid . with respect to the invalidity of a measurement because it is taken when the system is in a transient period , as aforementioned , each rrm function is associated with one or more rrm measurements . each time an rrm function performs an action on the system , it determines the time at which the action was taken . this time corresponds to the start of the “ transient period .” the transition period lasts for a certain duration , after which point the system is considered stable again . the duration of the transient period depends on the type of action that was performed by the rrm function . the duration of the transient period is a design parameter . if a particular rrm measurement is taken during the transient period of the rrm function , it is deemed to be invalid . this can be determined in several ways . in a first alternative , associated with each rrm measurement stored in the database is an indication of whether or not the rrm measurement was taken during the transient period . although these measurements are stored , they will be deemed invalid . in a second alternative , a timestamp for the beginning of each rrm transient is stored separately . when an rrm measurement is retrieved from the database , its timestamp may be compared to the timestamp of the transient period . if the timestamp of the retrieved rrm measurement is within the transient period ( i . e ., the timestamp of the beginning of the rrm transient plus the duration of the transient ), the retrieved rrm measurement is determined to be invalid . in a third alternative , actual measurements may be declared invalid by simply determining if a predicted measurement is in the database and if so , determining its timestamp . this alternative assumes that the transient period begins exactly when predicted measurements are written to the database . these alternatives are intended to be illustrative , not limiting , as there are many different ways that such a determination of invalidity may be effected . the system determines the validity of an actual measurement in view of both age of the actual measurement and the stability of the system . if the actual measurement is valid as determined at step 42 , then the actual measurement is used ( step 44 ). if the actual measurement is deemed not valid at step 42 , a determination is made as to whether a predictive value is available ( step 46 ). if a predictive value is available as determined at step 46 , the actual measurement is combined with the predictive value ( step 48 ). the combination of actual measurements and predictive values as performed at step 48 will now be described . although those of skill in the art realize that they are many different ways to combine the values , in one preferred embodiment , the present invention uses a combination of actual measurements ( m actual ) and predicted values ( m predicted ) as follows : m ( t )= α ( t )· m predicted +( 1 − α ( t ))· m actual ; equation ( 1 ) where α ( t ) is a time - varying weighting function and t represent the amount for time elapsed since the initiation of the transient period ( i . e ., transient period starts at t = 0 ). m ( t ) represents the combined measurement at time t which is provided to the rrm function . typically , α is a monotonically decreasing function between one ( 1 ) and zero ( 0 ). preferably α should equal 1 at t = 0 , immediately following the beginning of the transient period and α should equal 0 at the end of the transient period , once actual measurements are considered stable . example α weighting functions are shown in fig2 a and 2b for a transient phase of 1 second duration . in fig2 a , the variation over time is a substantially straight line function , whereas in fig2 b the variation over time results in α initially diminishing at a slow rate , followed by a rapidly diminishing rate . this may be approximated by an exponential or geometric change , depending on the nature of α . it is possible that succeeding actions take place during the transient period ( i . e ., before α has reached zero ). when a subsequent action is taken by an rrm function , the system enters a “ new ” transient period . since certain rrm functions typically predict what αvalue would be following an action that is taken at time t 1 , the predicted value is based on m ( t 1 ). in this case , m predicted is made based on m ( t 1 ), where t 1 is the time when the succeeding action is triggered . furthermore , t is reset to zero at the completion of the succeeding action ( i . e ., a new transient period is started ). if a new transient period is started , any subsequent rrm function that acts at t 2 would use t 1 as the beginning of the transient phase . as a result , t in equation 1 would be t = t 2 − t 1 . referring back to fig1 , if it has been determined that the actual measurement is not valid as determined at step 42 and predictive values are not available as determined at step 46 , then the rnc may implement one of the following four options ( step 50 ): ( 1 ) use a default value as in step 40 ; ( 2 ) combine the actual measurement with a default value ; ( 3 ) add a margin to the actual measurement ; or ( 4 ) declare the resources at issue to be unavailable . with respect to the first option , use of the default value , this was explained with reference to step 40 . with respect to the second option , combining the actual measurement and a default value , the rnc combines these in different ways depending upon the reason why the measurement is invalid . if the measurement is invalid because the latest actual measurement in the database is too old , then an equation similar to equation 1 can be used : m ( t )= α ( t )· m actual +( 1 − α ( t ))· m default equation ( 2 ) in equation 2 , the time - decaying α term is applied to m actual and t is the elapsed time since the measurement was stored in the database . preferably this α function differs from the one used in equation 1 in that it is chosen to decay much more slowly . if the actual measurement is declared invalid because the system is in a transient state , but fresh actual measurements are available , a weighted combination of the actual measurement and the default value is used : where a + b = 1 and the weighting factors a and b are configurable parameters that are optimized based on simulations or observations of the system . note that different measurements could have different weighting factors . with respect to the third option of adding a margin to the actual measurement , preferably a time - varying error margin is added to the actual measurement , as described by : where margin is a time - varying margin which is large at time zero , immediately following the initiation of the transient period , and monotonically decreases toward zero as the transient period ends . as is the case with equation ( 1 ), equation ( 4 ) is executed when the actual measurements are available , but are deemed not to be valid due to a transient period or an expired timestamp . note that this option is only valid in the case where measurements or metrics monotonically increase or decrease towards the converged value . in the case where measurements or metrics oscillate around the converged value , this option is not optimum . this option has the advantage that predictive measurements need not be presumed to exist during the transient period . it is further possible to execute equation ( 1 ) when predictive measurements are available and execute equation ( 4 ) when margin is considered the best “ prediction .” with respect to the last option of step 50 regarding declaring resources to be unavailable , if it has been determined that actual measurements , predictive values , adding a margin to an actual measurement or a combination of any of these options is undesirable , the system may simply decline to send an rrm measurement and those resources for which the rrm measurement was requested will be deemed by the assistant to be unavailable . accordingly , those resources will not be used . the result of the determination as to whether to use the actual value at step 44 , a predictive value at step 38 , a default value at step 40 , a combined actual measurement with a predictive value at step 48 , or one of the options in step 50 , is then used to provide the requested rrm measurement . to facilitate the management of measurements , a centralized measurement control unit is utilized at the rnc . the centralized measurement control unit implements the following functions : ( 1 ) storing received measurements within a central structure ; and ( 2 ) measurement processing , including measurement filtering , tracking measurement age , and validity ( e . g ., assigning timestamp upon reception , and age threshold comparison ) and selecting between or combining predicted values and actual measurements . a centralized measurement control unit 80 made in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig3 . the measurement control unit 80 includes a measurement setup unit 81 , a measurement reception and storing unit 82 , a measurement processing unit 83 and a measurement output unit 84 . the measurement setup unit 81 implements the measurement setup procedures with respect to the wtru and the node b . it is responsible for the setup and configuration of measurements . more specifically , it communicates with the node b and the wtru rrc layers to setup , modify , and end measurements , giving all measurement configuration details ( e . g ., averaging period , reporting criterion / period ). the measurement reception and storing unit 82 stores the actual and predicted wtru and node b measurements in an organized structure . this includes assigning timestamp information upon reception of a measurement in order to track the age of the measurement . the measurement processing unit 83 filters received measurements , verifies measurement validity and / or availability and combining actual measurements , predicted values and default as appropriate . the measurement processing unit 83 is responsible for all of the measurement processing that is described in the present invention . the measurement output unit 84 provides proper measurements to rrm functions upon request ( i . e ., providing actual measurements when valid , predicted measurements when unavailable or invalid or a combination of actual measurements , predicted values and default values , such as are illustrated in fig1 at steps 38 , 40 , 44 , 48 , and 50 ). moreover , this measurement output unit 84 can optionally be responsible for triggering rrm functions when measurements exceed a predetermined threshold .

7Electricity

a method for detecting high impedance faults ( hifs ) by analyzing a local deviation from a regularization according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described . in fig1 , an input waveform is received from a power distribution network ( 105 ). the power distribution network may be any alternating current electrical transmission or distribution system or facility . the input waveform is measured ( recorded ) and is represented by a 1 - dimensional table of numbers iw ( s ), indexed by s = 0 , 1 , 2 . . . n − 1 , where n is the length of the table . the parameters describing this table include the time signature of the start of the measurement , a sampling rate r ( indicating how often the samples were taken ) and implicitly the total time ( n / r ) over which the samples were taken . an exemplary sampling rate may be 256 samples per cycle at 60 cycles per second . upon receipt of the input waveform , a table rms ( t ) of root mean square ( rms ) values indexed by t is computed ( 110 ). rms ⁡ ( t ) = 1 w ⁢ ∑ s - 0 w - 1 ⁢ iw ⁡ ( t * δ ⁢ ⁢ t + s ) 2 , with w representing the length of a sliding window ( in many samples ) over which rms was computed , δt representing the amount in seconds the sliding window is moved each time a normalized rms value is computed and s representing a running index of the samples within the sliding window . the number rms ( t ) represents the rms value of the input waveform at time t * δt . the value of w is a parameter that can be used to tune the algorithm . for example , in the case of a quasi - period input waveform , such as an alternating current ( ac ), the length w of the sliding window can be chosen as a multiple of the number of samples in a single cycle . thus , using the cycle mentioned above , the multiple of 1 / 60 of a second worth of samples , i . e ., 256 , is used . the multiple could be larger than 1 / 60 of a second or it could be smaller than 1 / 60 of a second . however , choosing a w that is smaller than half the cycle length , i . e ., smaller than 128 , creates artificial periodic anomalies . it is also noted that the sliding window is generally moved by w = δt * r ; however , these parameters do not have to be equal . in addition , choosing a length w of the sliding window larger than δt * r creates a smoothing effect . with the table rms ( t ) of rms values indexed by time computed ( factoring in the value of δt ), a regression line is fit thereto ( 115 ). for this , another sliding window of length d is used . this window is moved using a step size 1 , which corresponds to an increment of time equivalent to δt . for each position of the sliding window a linear model is fit to the rms data in the interval [ t − d / 2 , t + d / 2 ], and then a value f ( t ) of the linear model at the midpoint of the interval is computed . it is noted that the linear model can be replaced by a different model , such as polynomial , polynomial spline or trigonometric . a deviation between the locally fit line and the rms values is computed ( 120 ). the deviation is represented mathematically as : aif ( t )= rms ( t )− f ( t ). the value aif ( t ) is a difference between the linear model f ( t ) and the rms value rms ( t ) both computed at the midpoint of the sliding window d . the deviation can then be used as a fault indicator . prior to doing this , several parameters are chosen . it is noted that the following parameters can be chosen in any order . the first parameters to be chosen are a length q of a new sliding window ( 125 a ) and a step s ( 125 b ) smaller than q . the window length q may correspond to about 30 minutes of data , and the step s may correspond to about 10 minutes of data , for example . a mean value m of aif ( t ) over this window is computed . from this , a maximum m of | aif ( t )− m | over the window is computed . given the window and the step we can establish fault indicators for all the indices t in the interval of length s in the center of the window q , for this we chose a threshold t ( 125 c ). the threshold t is generally a value that lies between 0 and 1 ( i . e ., 0 & lt ; t & lt ; 1 ). now that the parameters have been chosen , it is determined whether the deviation is above the threshold t ( 130 ). for each t within the center interval of length s ( within the window q ) for which | aif ( t )− m | exceeds t * m , a “ fault ” is reported ( 135 a ) and for each t for which | aif ( t )− m | exceeds t * m , a “ no fault ” is reported ( 135 b ). it is noted that when a “ fault ” is reported , the algorithm is indicating that a “ fault occurred ”, not that “ the line is in a fault state ”. to establish the fault indicators for next values of the index t , we slide the window q by the step s , recalculate the values m and m , and then , compare the deviations | aif ( t )− m | to t * m in the new center interval of length s . it is noted that these center intervals do not overlap or leave gaps . the results of this determination are then placed in a fault occurrence table ( 140 ). the fault occurrence table is represented by a one - dimensional table of binary values fot ( t ), t = 1 , 2 . . . m . the binary value 1 indicates “ fault occurred ” and the binary value 0 indicates “ no fault occurred ” in the network for the state of the input waveform at the index t , which represents the time t * δt . the fault occurrence table can then be used to trigger alarms at moments t when fot ( t ), or when some other function , such as a high running average , shows a high binary value . fault occurrence tables that are calculated using different threshold values can also be used with the aid of receiver operating characteristic ( roc ) curves , to determine the best threshold level , which can be used to optimize the sensitivity of detection while keeping the frequency of false alarms low . a system for detecting hifs by analyzing a local deviation from a regularization according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described . in fig2 , a portion of a typical three - phase power distribution network is shown by reference numeral 205 . phase conductors 210 a - d of distribution network 205 are each monitored by current transformers 215 a - d . connected to the current transformers 215 a - d is a sensor 220 that collects analog signals representing phase currents of the phase conductors 210 a - d provided from the current transformers 215 a - d . the sensor 220 may be a lindsey multicore sensor available http :// www . lindsey - usa . com / cvmi . php . the sensor 220 may be mounted to a pole on which the current transformers 215 a - d are located . the sensor 220 may represent one or a multiple of sensors . the sensor 220 provides the collected data to a computer 225 , for example . the computer 225 may be a laptop that is used by a field technician , a computer found in an electrical substation or a central computer found at a power companies &# 39 ; headquarters . data may be transmitted from the sensor 220 to the computer 225 either by direct connection or by using broadband over power lines , for example . the computer 225 may include an analog - to - digital ( a / d ) converter 230 if a / d conversion has not already been performed by the sensor 220 . the computer 225 also includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 235 , a memory 240 and a hif detection module 245 that includes program code for executing methods in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the computer 225 is also coupled to input and output devices 250 and 255 . the memory 240 includes random access memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). the memory 240 can also include a database , disk drive , tape drive or a combination thereof . the input 250 is constituted by a keyboard or mouse and the output 255 is constituted by a display or printer . fig3 is a schematic representation of the setup for an experiment that was conducted to test a method for detecting hifs by analyzing a local deviation from a regularization according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig3 , the line between stations 101 - 104 is a feeder , e . g ., a medium voltage ( 13 kv ) transmission line , that provides power from a substation ( located near station 104 ) to customers . the customers are connected to the feeder by transformers , which reduce the voltage to 120v , that sit on laterals . the segment to the right of the feeder ( test experiment site ) is such a lateral ; however , it is isolated from the customers and does not have transformers . sensors were situated on each of the stations 101 - 104 and they collected data from each of the four transmission lines of the feeder . fig4 shows results of the experiment represented as roc curves . in fig4 , data streams , such as a current on phase b ( wire b ) at station 102 , a current on phase b ( wire b ) at station 101 , a current on phase b ( wire b ) at station 104 and a voltage on the neutral phase at station 101 , were measured . a different threshold was applied to each of the measurements . for the given thresholds , points were plotted on each of the graphs , with the proportion of false positives to all false detections marked on the horizontal axes and the proportion of true positives to all true detections marked on the vertical axes . in general , an roc curve is monotone , i . e ., it joins the point ( 0 , 0 ) for a threshold of 0 and the point ( 1 , 1 ) for a threshold of 1 . thus , for better detection methods , the curve should lie closer to the upper left hand corner ( like that shown by the roc curves for station 102 , phase b and station 104 , phase b ), and for worse detection methods , the curve lies closer to the diagonal ( like that shown for the roc curve of station 101 , voltage , neutral phase ). it is noted that a detection method that produces points below the diagonal is worthless , since it provides proportionally more false positives than true detections . by using the present invention , bursts in an input signal , which appear in a short time range , can be detected . such bursts can be alternately detected by analyzing amplitudes of higher frequencies in fourier or wavelet transforms of the signal . however , as opposed to these methods , the invention is better tuned to detect isolated or highly non - periodic bursts , which often appear at hifs . for example , as discussed above , the burst of the signal is separated from the typical background behavior by averaging the first signal ( to get rid of basic frequencies ), then subtracting a locally found trend line from the signal ( to get rid of the changes slow in time ) and finally using thresholding to produce a yes / no decision signal . this is particularly advantageous , since anomalies of the signal that occur within a short time range can be detected with high precision , from either an on - site location or a central command station . it is noted that although the present invention has been discussed with particular reference to detecting hifs on power lines , the invention is not limited thereto . for example , the present invention may also be used to detect a fault in a signal emanating from a telephone line or a control system . in addition , the electrical signal may be a non - periodic signal , such as a direct current ( dc ) signal used on a high - voltage dc transmission line . it is understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms of hardware , software , firmware , special purpose processors , or a combination thereof . in one embodiment , the present invention may be implemented in software as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage device ( e . g ., magnetic floppy disk , ram , cd rom , dvd , rom , and flash memory ). the application program may be uploaded to , and executed by , a machine comprising any suitable architecture . it is also understood that because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures may be implemented in software , the actual connections between the system components ( or the process steps ) may differ depending on the manner in which the present invention is programmed . given the teachings of the present invention provided herein , one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention . it is further understood that the above description is only representative of illustrative embodiments . for the convenience of the reader , the above description has focused on a representative sample of possible embodiments , a sample that is illustrative of the principles of the invention . the description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations . that alternative embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the invention , or that further undescribed alternatives may be available for a portion , is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments . other applications and embodiments can be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . it is therefore intended , that the invention not be limited to the specifically described embodiments , because numerous permutations and combinations of the above and implementations involving non - inventive substitutions for the above can be created , but the invention is to be defined in accordance with the claims that follow . it can be appreciated that many of those undescribed embodiments are within the literal scope of the following claims , and that others are equivalent .

6Physics

fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a precursor wire which is used for producing of an nb 3 sn superconducting wire which has a high critical current density according to the embodiment 1 of the present invention , and the precursor wire is generally denoted at 100 . the method of producing nb 3 sn superconducting wire will now be described with reference to fig1 . according to the method of producing nb 3 sn superconducting wire , first , an nb rod 1 is prepared whose size is diameter of 31 . 2 mm × length of 600 mm . next , a cu tube 2 containing sn is prepared whose size is outer diameter of 35 . 0 mm × inner diameter of 31 . 5 mm × length of 600 mm , and the nb rod 1 is inserted in the cu tube 2 . following this , this cu tube 2 is drawn and reduced in diameter until the outer diameter decreases down to 6 . 1 mm , and further reduced in diameter until the cu tube becomes hexagonal rod whose length of the opposite side is 5 . 2 mm . at this step , a cu / nb composite rod 3 is obtained whose cross section is approximately hexagonal . next , the cu / nb composite rod 3 is cut to 175 mm , and thus obtained 121 rods are bundled and inserted in a cu container 4 containing sn whose size is outer diameter of 70 mm × inner diameter of 63 . 5 mm × length of 185 mm . next , the cu container 4 is enclosed with caps at its both ends , and the cu container 4 and the caps are welded using an electron beam in vacuum and accordingly sealed up , and then hip - processed and integrated as one , whereby a cu / multi - nb composite rod is obtained . the cu / multi - nb composite rod is subjected to hot extruding and reduced in diameter until the outer diameter decreases down to 25 . 0 mm , and the periphery of the cu / multi - nb composite rod is machined until the outer diameter becomes 24 . 5 mm . further , the cu / multi - nb composite rod is drawn and reduced in diameter until the outer diameter decreases down to 2 . 2 mm , further reduced in diameter until the cu / multi - nb composite rod becomes a hexagonal rod whose length of the opposite side is 1 . 85 mm , and cut to 1000 mm . at this step , nb modules 7 are completed . meanwhile , separately from fabrication of the nb modules 7 , a sn rod 5 containing in is prepared whose size is diameter of 30 . 7 mm × length of 300 mm and inserted in a cu tube 6 containing sn whose size is outer diameter of 35 mm × inner diameter of 31 mm × length of 300 mm . after the sn rod is drawn and reduced in diameter until the outer diameter decreases down to 2 . 2 mm , the sn rod is further reduced in diameter until the sn rod becomes a hexagonal rod whose length of the opposite side is 1 . 85 mm , and cut to 1000 mm . sn modules 8 which are cu / sn composite rods are thus completed . next , as shown in fig1 , eighty - four nb modules 7 and thirty - seven sn modules 8 are arranged and bundled , except for those at the outermost periphery , in such a manner that the outer sn modules 8 are surrounded by the nb modules 7 as shown in fig1 . following this , a ta tube 9 is prepared whose size is outer diameter of 24 . 5 mm × inner diameter of 24 mm × length of 1000 mm , and the bundle of the nb modules 7 and the sn modules 8 is inserted in the ta tube 9 . further , a cu tube 10 is prepared whose size is outer diameter of 34 mm × inner diameter of 26 mm × length of 1000 mm , and the ta tube 9 is inserted in the cu tube 10 . at this step , a precursor wire 100 whose cross section is as shown in fig1 is formed . next , the precursor wire 100 is drawn until the outer diameter decreases down to 0 . 7 mm . the workability at the drawing step is extremely good and wire having the length of 1800 m without any breakage is obtained . this is because the sn modules 8 are the cu / sn composite rods which are obtained by inserting the soft sn rod 5 in the cu tube 6 and the hardness balance of the precursor wire 100 accordingly improves . this wire is heat - treated at last , whereby an nb 3 sn superconducting wire is obtained . in this example , measurement samples are cut out from drawn wire , then heat - treated in an inert gas atmosphere at 650 ° c . for ten days , and made as the nb 3 sn superconducting wire . at this step , the nb 3 sn superconducting wire having a high critical current density is completed . the critical current of obtained superconducting wire was measured at the temperature of liquid helium ( 4 . 2 k ) in a magnetic field of 12 t and found to be 430 a . the critical current density in non stabilized - copper area ( non - cu jc ) was 2200 a / mm 2 . from these results , it is clarified that use of the producing method according to this embodiment makes it possible to obtain an nb 3 sn superconducting wire which has a high critical current density and favorable drawing workability which can not be obtained with the conventional methods . in the case of the precursor wire 100 according to the embodiment 1 , a sn volume ratio of sn cores in the sn modules 8 is 78 . 1 %, a nb volume ratio of nb filaments in the nb modules 7 is 67 . 7 %, and a ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 7 is 1 : 2 . 27 . even if the diameters and the lengths of the nb modules 7 and the sn modules 8 in the precursor wire 100 are changed , and even if the outer diameters , inner diameters and the lengths of the ta tube 9 and the cu tube 10 in the precursor wire 100 are changed , and even if the final diameters and the lengths of the precursor wire 100 are changed , the ratio of nb volume in the nb modules 7 is stayed within the range from 50 % to 75 %, or more preferably , the range from 55 % to 70 %. in the same manner , the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is stayed within the range from 70 % to 90 %, or more preferably , the range from 75 % to 85 %. as for the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 7 , when the number of the sn modules 8 is 1 , the number of the nb modules 7 is from 1 . 9 to 2 . 5 , and more preferably , from 1 . 95 to 2 . 35 . in the precursor wire 100 having such a structure , nb in the nb modules 7 ( nb filaments ) and sn in the sn modules 8 ( sn cores ) are buried in separate cu matrices and structured as separate modules , and therefore , the volume fractions of the nb filaments and the sn cores in the precursor wire 100 are increased . as a result , nb 3 sn superconducting wire with the high jc properties is able to be obtained , because the nb 3 sn reacted with a high concentration sn and nb each other by final heat treatment . further , since the sn modules are arranged surrounding the nb modules except for those at the outermost periphery , sn diffusion gets directed inward in such directions that solid angles become narrow and the sn modules intercept physical or electromagnetic coupling between the nb modules . therefore , the performance of the obtained nb 3 sn itself is improved and the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with high jc and high stability is able to be obtained . consequently , as mentioned above , it is possible to get the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with non - cu jc exceeding 2000 a / mm 2 at 4 . 2 k and 12 t . in addition , as described above , as the sn cores are the sn modules 8 which are buried in the cu matrix , cu absorbs the difference in hardness between nb and sn and the drawing workability improves . it is therefore possible to easily produce a long length wire . however , when the nb volume ratio in the nb modules 7 is less than 50 % or the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is less than 70 %, it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased . on the contrary , when the nb volume ratio in the nb modules 7 is larger than 75 % or the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is larger than 90 %, it is not possible to obtain such a long nb 3 sn superconducting wire as that described above , because the drawing workability becomes considerably poor . further , when the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 7 is that the number of the nb modules 7 is less than 1 . 9 relative to the number of the sn modules 8 of 1 , it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of nb compared with sn . conversely , when the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 7 is that the number of the nb modules 7 is larger than 2 . 5 relative to the number of the sn modules 8 of 1 , it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of sn compared with nb . while the embodiment 1 uses sn rods whose in dose is 1 wt % as the sn rods 5 containing in , the in dose is preferably from 0 wt % to 2 wt %, and more preferably , from 0 . 5 wt % to 1 . 5 wt %. since this increases the hardness of the sn modules and reduces the hardness difference from the nb modules , it is possible to easily produce a long wire . however , when the in dose is more than 2 wt %, it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that realized by the embodiment 1 , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of sn . when no in is added on the contrary , although the drawing workability somewhat deteriorates , the method of producing the sn rods becomes simple and a long wire which is approximately similar to that according to the embodiment 1 is obtained . further , while the sn dose in the cu tube 2 , the cu container 4 and the cu tube 6 is 0 . 15 wt % in the embodiment 1 , the sn dose is preferably from 0 wt % to 2 wt %, and more preferably , from 0 . 05 wt % to 0 . 5 wt %. since such a structure enhances the hardness of the sn modules and that of the nb modules , it is possible to more easily produce a long wire . however , when the sn dose is more than 2 wt %, the drawing workability becomes considerably poor and such long wire as that described above can not be obtained . when no sn is added on the contrary , although the drawing workability somewhat deteriorates , the method of producing the cu tubes and the cu container becomes simple and a long wire which is approximately similar to that according to the embodiment 1 is obtained . in addition , although the embodiment 1 uses the ta tube 9 as a sn diffusion barrier , a similar effect is attained even using a ta plate as it is shaped like a tube for instance . further alternatively , instead of ta , any nb - based metal or the like may be used as long as the metal is effective in preventing diffusion of sn . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of a precursor wire which is used for producing an nb 3 sn superconducting wire which has a high critical current density according to the embodiment 2 of the present invention , and the precursor wire is generally denoted at 200 . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of an nb module 12 which is used in the precursor wire 200 . in fig2 and 3 , the same reference symbols as those used in fig1 denote the same or corresponding portions . the method of producing nb 3 sn superconducting wire will now be described with reference to fig2 and 3 . according to the method of producing nb 3 sn superconducting wire , first , as shown in fig3 , nb modules 12 are fabricated in which nb - based metal filaments are arranged in a cu - based metal matrix . to be more specific , a cu rod containing sn whose size is diameter of 6 . 1 mm × length of 3 m is made , and that rod is drawn to a hexagonal rod whose length of the opposite side is 5 . 2 mm , and cut to 175 mm . in this manner , sixteen cu rods 11 containing sn are made . meanwhile , by a method similar to that according to the embodiment 1 , one hundred and five cu / nb composite rods 3 are made whose length of the opposite side is 5 . 2 mm and length is 175 mm . next , as shown in fig3 , the cu rods 11 and the cu / nb composite rods 3 are bundled such that the cu rods 11 are lined up in the radius directions which are at 120 degrees with each other . the total number of the cu rods 11 and the cu / nb composite rods 3 is 121 . next , these are inserted in the cu container 4 containing sn whose size is outer diameter of 70 . 0 mm × inner diameter of 63 . 5 mm × length of 185 mm . following this , the cu container 4 is enclosed with caps at its both ends , and the container and the caps are welded using an electron beam in vacuum and accordingly sealed up , and then hip - processed and integrated as one , whereby a cu / multi - nb composite rod is obtained . by a method similar to that according to the embodiment 1 , the cu / multi - nb composite rod is then subjected to hot extruding and reduced in diameter until the outer diameter decreases down to 25 mm , and the periphery of the cu / multi - nb composite rod is machined until the outer diameter becomes 24 . 5 mm . further , the cu / multi - nb composite rod is drawn and reduced in diameter down to 2 . 2 mm , further reduced in diameter until the cu / multi - nb composite rod becomes a hexagonal rod whose length of the opposite side is 1 . 85 mm . this is cut to 1000 mm at last , whereby the nb modules 12 shown in fig3 are fabricated . meanwhile , by a method similar to that according to the embodiment 1 , the sn modules 8 whose length of the opposite side is 1 . 85 mm and length is 1000 mm shown in fig2 are fabricated . following this , as shown in fig2 , eighty - four nb modules 12 and thirty - seven sn modules 8 are arranged and bundled , except for those at the outermost periphery , in such a manner that the outer sn modules 8 are surrounded by the nb modules 12 as shown in fig2 . next , the ta tube 9 is prepared whose size is outer diameter of 24 . 5 mm × inner diameter of 24 . 0 mm × length of 1000 mm , and the bundle of the nb modules 12 and the sn modules 8 is inserted in the ta tube 9 . further , the cu tube 10 is prepared whose size is outer diameter of 34 mm × inner diameter of 26 mm × length of 1000 mm , and the ta tube 9 is inserted in the cu tube 10 . at this step , the precursor wire 200 whose cross section is as shown in fig2 is formed . next , the precursor wire 200 is drawn until the outer diameter decreases down to 0 . 7 mm . the workability at the drawing step is extremely good and wire material having the length of 1800 m without any breakage is obtained . this is because the sn modules 8 are the cu / sn composite rods which are obtained by inserting the soft sn rod 5 in the cu tube 6 and the hardness balance of the precursor wire 200 accordingly improves . this wire is heat - treated at last , whereby an nb 3 sn superconducting wire is obtained . in this example , measurement samples are cut out from drawn wire , then heat - treated in an inert gas atmosphere at 600 ° c . for ten days , and made as the nb 3 sn superconducting wire . at this step , the nb 3 sn superconducting wire having a high critical current density is completed . the critical current of obtained superconducting wire was measured at the temperature of liquid helium ( 4 . 2 k ) in a magnetic field of 12 t and found to be 390 a . the critical current density in non stabilized - copper area ( non - cu jc ) was 2020 a / mm 2 . from these results , it is clarified that use of the producing method according to this embodiment makes it possible to obtain an nb 3 sn superconducting wire which has a high critical current density and favorable drawing workability which can not be obtained with the conventional methods . according to the embodiment 2 , as described above , in the nb module 12 , the area of the plurality of the cu / multi - nb composite rods 3 is divided by the cu rods 11 , which are lined up in the radius directions which are at 120 degrees with each other , into three fan - shaped sections whose central angles are 120 degrees . in other words , this is a structure that the area where the nb filaments are buried in a proportional manner in the cu matrix ( i . e ., the nb filament bundles ) is partitioned into the three fan - like sections by the area of the cu rods 11 . by means of this structure , physical or electromagnetic coupling between the nb filament bundles inside the nb module 12 is blocked , and an nb 3 sn superconducting wire which is highly stable is obtained . in the case of the precursor wire 200 according to the embodiment 2 , a sn volume ratio of sn cores in the sn modules 8 is 78 . 1 %, a nb volume ratio of nb filaments in the nb modules 12 is 58 . 8 %, and the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 12 is 1 : 2 . 27 . even if the diameters and the lengths of the nb modules 12 and the sn modules 8 in the precursor wire 200 are changed , and even if the outer diameters , inner diameters and the lengths of the ta tube 9 and the cu tube 10 in the precursor wire 200 are changed , and even if the final diameters and the lengths of the precursor wire 200 are changed , the ratio of nb volume in the nb modules 12 is stayed within the range from 50 % to 75 %, or more preferably , the range from 55 % to 70 %. in the same manner , the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is stayed within the range from 70 % to 90 %, or more preferably , the range from 75 % to 85 %. as for the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 12 , when the number of the sn modules 8 is 1 , the number of the nb modules 12 is from 1 . 9 to 2 . 5 , and more preferably , from 1 . 95 to 2 . 35 . when the nb volume ratio in the nb modules 12 is less than 50 % or the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is less than 70 %, it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased . on the contrary , when the nb volume ratio in the nb modules 12 is larger than 75 % or the sn volume ratio in the sn modules 8 is larger than 90 %, it is not possible to obtain such a long nb 3 sn superconducting wire as that described above , because the drawing workability becomes considerably poor . further , when the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 12 is that the number of the nb modules 12 is less than 1 . 9 relative to the number of the sn modules 8 of 1 , it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of nb compared with sn . conversely , when the ratio of the number of the sn modules 8 to the number of the nb modules 12 is that the number of the nb modules 12 is larger than 2 . 5 relative to the number of the sn modules 8 of 1 , it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that described above , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of sn compared with nb . while the area where the nb filaments are buried in proportional manner in the cu - based metal matrix is divided into the three fan - shaped sections whose central angles are 120 degrees by the cu - based metal matrix inside the nb module 12 according to the embodiment 2 , a similar effect is attained even when the number of the divided sections is other than 3 as long as the ratio of nb volume in the nb modules 12 is from 50 % to 75 %, or more preferably , the range from 55 % to 70 %. further , although the foregoing has described that the cu rods 11 containing sn are used as the partitioning material , other metal such as ta rods for instance may be used instead which can block physical or electromagnetic coupling between the nb filaments inside the nb modules . still further , although the foregoing has described that a plurality of rods are used as the shape of as the partitioning material , other shape such as a plate - like shape may be used instead which is effective in blocking physical or electromagnetic coupling between the nb filaments inside the nb modules . while sn rods whose in dose is 1 wt % are used as the sn rods 5 containing in according to the embodiment 2 , similar effect is attained even using sn - based metal rods whose in dose is preferably from 0 wt % to 2 wt %, and more preferably , from 0 . 5 wt % to 1 . 5 wt %. however , when the in dose is more than 2 wt %, it is not possible to obtain the nb 3 sn superconducting wire with such a high current density as that realized by the embodiment 2 , because the amount of nb 3 sn generated by heat - treatment is decreased by decreasing the amount of sn . when no in is added on the contrary , although the drawing workability somewhat deteriorates , the method of producing the sn rods becomes simple and a long wire which is approximately similar to that according to the embodiment 2 is obtained . although the embodiment 2 uses cu rods , a cu tube and cu container whose sn dose is 0 . 15 wt % as the cu rods 11 containing sn , the cu tube 2 containing sn , the cu container 4 containing sn and the cu tube 6 containing sn , cu rods , a cu tube and a cu container whose sn dose is from 0 wt % to 2 wt %, and more preferably , from 0 . 05 wt % to 0 . 5 wt % may be used . however , when the sn dose is more than 2 wt %, the drawing workability becomes considerably poor and such a long wire as that described above can not be obtained . when no sn is added on the contrary , although the drawing workability somewhat deteriorates , the method of producing the cu rods , the cu tube and the cu container becomes simple and a long wire as that described above is obtained . although the embodiment 2 uses the ta tube 9 as a sn diffusion barrier , a ta plate or the like as it is shaped like a tube for instance may be used as the barrier . further , although ta is used as the material of the sn diffusion barrier , other metal such as nb - based metal may be used instead which is effective in preventing diffusion of sn . in the present invention , cu - based metal refers to pure cu or cu which contains sn in the amount of 2 wt % or less . nb - based metal refers to pure nb or nb which contains at least one of ta of 10 wt % or less , or ti of 5 wt % or less . sn - based metal refers to pure sn or sn which contains at least one of ti of 5 wt % or less , or in of 2 wt % or less .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

fig1 depicts an exemplary data processing system capable of processing database queries for query processing according to embodiments of the present invention . the system of fig1 includes a number of computers connected for data communications in networks . each of the computers of the system of fig1 may have installed upon it a database management system capable of processing database queries in accordance with the present invention . the data processing system of fig1 includes wide area network (“ wan ”) 101 . the network connection aspect of the architecture of fig1 is only for explanation , not for limitation . in fact , systems for processing database queries according to embodiments of the present invention may be connected as lans , wans , intranets , internets , the internet , webs , the world wide web itself , or other connections as will occur to those of skill in the art . such networks are media that may be used to provide data communications connections between various devices and computers connected together within an overall data processing system . in the example of fig1 , several exemplary devices including a pda 112 , a computer workstation 104 , a mobile phone 110 , personal computer 102 , a laptop 126 , a server 106 , and another personal computer 108 are connected to wan 101 . the network - enabled mobile phone 110 connects to wan 101 through wireless link 116 , the pda 112 connects to network 101 through wireless link 114 and the laptop 126 connects to the network 101 through a wireless link 118 . in the example of fig1 , the personal computer 108 connects through a wireline connection 120 to wan 101 , the computer workstation 104 connects through a wireline connection 122 to wan 101 , the personal computer 108 connects through a wireline connection 124 to wan 101 , and the server 106 connects through a wireline connection 119 to wan 101 . in the system of fig1 , exemplary devices 120 , 108 , 112 , 104 , 106 , 110 , 126 , and 102 support a database management system capable of processing database queries and interacting with a user 100 . the arrangement of servers and other devices making up the exemplary system illustrated in fig1 are for explanation , not for limitation . data processing systems useful according to various embodiments of the present invention may include additional servers , routers , other devices , and peer - to - peer architectures , not shown in fig1 , as will occur to those of skill in the art . networks in such data processing systems may support many data communications protocols , including for example tcp ( transmission control protocol ), ip ( internet protocol ), http ( hypertext transfer protocol ), wap ( wireless access protocol ), hdtp ( handheld device transport protocol ), and others as will occur to those of skill in the art . various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented on a variety of hardware platforms in addition to those illustrated in fig1 fig2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for processing database queries in accordance with the present invention according to embodiments of the present invention . the system of fig2 includes a computer 212 having installed upon it a database management system (‘ dbms ’) 250 . dbms 250 administers access to the contents of the database 262 . the dbms 250 includes an sql module 260 . the sql module is implemented as computer program instructions that execute a sql query 302 . the exemplary sql module 260 of fig2 also includes an exemplary plan generator 256 . each sql query is carried out by a sequence of database operations specified as a plan . the plan generator of fig2 is implemented as computer program instructions that create a plan for a sql query . a plan is a description of database functions for execution of an sql query . taking the following sql query as an example : plan generator 256 may generate the following exemplary plan for this sql query : this plan represents database functions to scan through the stores table and , for each stores record , join all transactions records for the store . the transactions for a store are identified through the storeid field acting as a foreign key . the fact that a selection of transactions records is carried out for each store record in the stores table identifies the join function as iterative . the exemplary plan generator 256 of fig2 includes a parser 252 for parsing the sql query . parser 252 is implemented as computer program instructions that parse the sql query . a sql query is presented to sql module 260 in text form , the parameters of an sql command . parser 252 retrieves the elements of the sql query from the text form of the query and places them in a data structure more useful for data processing of an sql query by an sql module . the exemplary plan generator 256 also includes an optimizer 254 implemented as computer program instructions that optimize the plan in dependence upon database management statistics 264 . optimizer 254 optimizes the execution of sql queries against dbms 250 . optimizer 254 is implemented as computer program instructions that optimize execution of a sql query in dependence upon database management statistics 264 . database statistics are typically implemented as metadata of a table , such as , for example , metadata of tables of database 262 or metadata of database indexes . database statistics may include , for example : histogram statistics : a histogram range and a count of values in the range , frequency statistics : a frequency of occurrence of a value in a column , and cardinality statistics : a count of the number of different values in a column . these three database statistics are presented for explanation only , not for limitation . the exemplary sql module 260 of fig2 also includes a primitives engine 258 implemented as computer program instructions that execute primitive query functions in dependence upon the plan . a ‘ primitive query function ,’ or simply a ‘ primitive ,’ is a software function that carries out actual operations on a database , retrieving records from tables , inserting records into tables , deleting records from tables , updating records in tables , and so on . primitives correspond to parts of a plan and are identified in the plan . examples of primitives include the following database instructions : retrieve the next three records from the stores table into hash table h 1 retrieve one record from the transactions table into hash table h 2 join the results of the previous two operations store the result of the join in table t 1 the sql module 260 of fig2 also includes an adaptive query processing module 150 . the adaptive query processing module 150 of fig2 is capable of processing database queries according to the present invention . the adaptive query processing module 150 includes computer program instructions capable of identifying poorly performing queries ; substituting an alternate plan to execute the query ; and executing the query using the alternate plan . fig3 is a block diagram of automated computing machinery comprising a computer 152 useful in processing database queries in accordance with the present invention according to embodiments of the present invention . the computer 152 of fig3 includes at least one computer processor 156 or ‘ cpu ’ as well as random access memory 168 (“ ram ”). stored in ram 168 is database management system 250 . the database management system 250 of fig3 includes an sql module 260 , which in turn includes a plan generator 256 and a primitives engine 258 . the sql module 260 of fig3 also includes an adaptive query processing module 150 . the adaptive query processing module 150 was described with respect to fig2 . also stored in ram 168 is an application 232 , a computer program that uses the dbms 250 to access data stored in a database . also stored in ram 168 is an operating system 154 . operating systems useful in computers according to embodiments of the present invention include unix , linux , microsoft nt ™, i5os , and many others as will occur to those of skill in the art . operating system 154 , dbms 250 , and application 154 in the example of fig3 are shown in ram 168 , but many components of such software typically are stored in non - volatile memory 166 also . the computer 152 of fig3 includes non - volatile computer memory 166 coupled through a system bus 160 to processor 156 and to other components of the computer . non - volatile computer memory 166 may be implemented as a hard disk drive 170 , optical disk drive 172 , electrically erasable programmable read - only memory space ( so - called ‘ eeprom ’ or ‘ flash ’ memory ) 174 , ram drives ( not shown ), or as any other kind of computer memory as will occur to those of skill in the art . the exemplary computer 152 of fig3 includes a communications adapter 167 for implementing connections for data communications 184 , including connections through networks , to other computers 182 , including servers , clients , and others as will occur to those of skill in the art . communications adapters implement the hardware level of connections for data communications through which local devices and remote devices or servers send data communications directly to one another and through networks . examples of communications adapters useful according to embodiments of the present invention include modems for wired dial - up connections , ethernet ( ieee 802 . 3 ) adapters for wired lan connections , and 802 . 11b adapters for wireless lan connections . the example computer of fig3 includes one or more input / output interface adapters 178 . input / output interface adapters in computers implement user - oriented input / output through , for example , software drivers and computer hardware for controlling output to display devices 180 such as computer display screens , as well as user input from user input devices 181 such as keyboards and mice . fig4 illustrates a method 300 for processing an sql query . a query 302 , for example an sql query , is received . the query can be compiled as indicated 304 , and executed at 306 . query execution 306 can both write data to data store 308 and read data from data store 308 , as indicated at 310 . fig5 is a more detailed view of method 300 of fig4 . method 300 can include query 302 being parsed in parse query step 312 and a logical query plan generated in step 314 . the results of the logical query plan can be used to generate multiple , logically equivalent physical query plans in step 316 . one of the logical query plans , likely the lowest cost plan , can be selected for execution in step 318 . the selected physical plan can be executed in step 320 and the results of the query returned to the application in step 322 . fig6 illustrates a method 340 incorporating some aspects of an embodiment of the present invention . method 340 can operate on a set of generated physical plans , for example physical plans generated by step 316 of fig5 . the execution of the selected physical plan can be begun in step 344 , with the execution time of the selected plan checked periodically in step 346 . if the preset maximum allowed time for the selected plan execution has been reached , then branch 350 is taken at step 346 , to select another physical plan to execute at step 342 , preferably not the plan currently being executed . if the maximum execution time has not been reached , then branch 348 is taken at step 346 , ultimately path 352 may be taken to execute step 354 , in which the query processing results are returned to the application . fig6 is a simplified illustration , with a more detailed illustration of one method being shown in fig8 . fig7 illustrates another aspect of an embodiment method 360 , including implementing the time - up step 346 of method 340 in fig6 . method 360 can include selecting a best physical plan step 342 , as described with respect to fig6 . an estimated or maximum time allowed for execution of the selected physical plan can be retrieved and used to set a timer in step 362 . execution can be begun in step 364 . when execution of the selected physical plan is complete , the timer can be deactivated in step 368 and the query processing results returned to the application in step 366 . not shown in fig7 is the result of the timer timing out , which would result in other steps being taken . these other steps can include checking the current plan being executed , putting the current plan into a safe state , selecting another plan , re - costing current plans in light of the new information , and the like . fig8 - 10 may or may not be read by referring also to referring to fig1 when reading the text associated with fig8 - 10 . this text sometimes refers to reference numerals beginning with number 500 , which are used in fig1 to illustrate one example of the invention . the high level aspect of fig8 - 10 may understood without referring to the 500 series reference numerals of fig1 without loss of understanding . for this reason , the 500 series reference numerals are enclosed in parentheses in the discussion of fig8 - 10 . fig8 illustrates the startup steps for one embodiment of the invention , with an ipl or boot step shown at 402 . after ipl step 402 , a system job ( 512 ) can be created in step 404 to handle and log the problem or “ runaway ” queries , those queries taking longer than expected . this user job can act as a single point through which the problem query information passes , in some embodiments . after creation , system job ( 512 ) can wait to receive a message as shown in step 406 . in step 408 , a queue ( 510 ) can be created to handle timer messages . in step 410 , a plan cache ( 534 ) can be created , to contain the various plans which will be generated to handle the queries . fig9 illustrates one method 412 that can be executed when a query is to be executed . in step 414 a user job ( 500 ) begins to execute the db query . the first time this user job attempts to execute a query , a queue ( 503 ) is created in step 416 , which will receive runaway query messages , if any are generated . a timed message is created in step 418 , and sent to a timer ( 508 ) in step 420 . in a normal case , with no runaway query , indicated by the “ y ” branch from step 422 , the timer will be cancelled by the successfully completed query in step 424 . in the event there is a runaway query , indicated by the “ n ” branch from step 422 , the timer message is not cancelled , indicated by arrival at step 426 . fig1 illustrates a method 430 , which can be executed when step 426 of fig9 is arrived at due to a runaway query . in step 432 , the expired timer message is processed through a timed message queue ( 510 ) and received by the system job ( 512 ), which has been waiting on such a message receipt . the message receipt can be logged in step 434 . some further detailed evaluation ( indicated at 514 in fig1 ) may be performed in some embodiments . if there is indeed a runaway query , then a determination is made in step 436 as to whether a guardian thread already exists . if a guardian thread does not exist , as it normally will not exist , a signal event is generated at step 438 to tell the user job to create the guardian thread . in step 440 , the timer message can then be sent to the previously created queue ( 503 ), which can retrieve the timer message from the queue ( 503 ) and act upon it as discussed further with respect to fig1 . fig1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the invention , previously referred to with respect to fig8 - 10 . as previously discussed , upon ipl , a system job 512 , a system timed message queue 510 , and a database plan cache 534 can be created . significant additional system - wide overhead to handle the aspects of the present invention is not created in some embodiments of the present invention . a user job or application 500 is shown , having a main thread 502 . user job 500 typically exists to process db queries . a user job timer message queue 503 can be created , to handle runaway db queries , if any arise . a guardian thread 524 is not yet created in some embodiments , as the extra overhead required to launch the secondary thread is wasted on normal db queries . a query process 504 is executed , to execute the query , for example , an sql query . before the execution of the query is begun , a timed message 514 is created at 506 and sent to system timer 508 . the timed messages 514 can be objects which derive from a common base class so system job 512 can process the objects or messages in a polymorphic manner . during database startup , in some embodiments , named message pools can be created for each concrete type of message or object . these pools can perform the function of recycling objects of the same type and can reduce the overhead of running constructors and destructors . the message pools can create new messages on demand up to some high water mark based on system activity . the message can be an object which includes instructions as to what to do should the timer expire . the time entered in the timer is related to the estimated completion time of the physical plan to be executed , in many embodiments . the timer may be the estimated completion time adjusted upward by a percentage and / or an absolute amount of time , depending on the embodiment . the scheduled message is one example of a system timer , used in this example . other timers may be used in other embodiments . the system timer functionality is indicated at 508 , which can receive and handle the timer message 514 and later enqueue the timer message , if required , on queue 510 . the query execution can be begun at 520 . when the query is normally completed , the timed message can be cancelled as indicated at 532 . this will cancel the timed message function to make sure that the message is not sent . if the timer expires , timer 508 has the id of the queue to send the timed message to . so , timer 508 can send timed message 514 to system queue 510 . as system job 512 was waiting on a receive , system job 512 wakes up , logs the received message to a log file , and pushes the ( doit ) method within message ( object ) 514 , as indicated at 513 . the thread of control can come into the doit method in the watcher object 514 , which can hold user job 500 safely ; to see if it is the same message the same query is running . if so , then a runaway query message can be en - queued on queue 503 . the method can also test to determine if guardian thread 524 currently exists . the guardian thread will not normally exist until needed to handle a runaway query . in some embodiments , an event handler will be registered so that other jobs can asynchronously notify this job to perform some action . the initial uses of events can be : ( 1 ) tell the user job to spawn a guardian thread and interrogate the maintenance queue for a specific action to perform ; ( 2 ) tell the user job to conditionally ( only if the current plan has not reached the point of no return ) cancel the current sql plan and restart the query using a new plan found in plan cache 534 . in such embodiments , if guardian thread 524 does not exist , then the do it method in watcher object 514 can raise an event for user job 500 to cause the creation of the guardian thread . an event is used for signaling in some embodiments , as it can be looked at when the user job is at a quiesce point . that event , which can be generated in object or message 514 , is the indication , handled by an event handler 522 , that guardian thread 524 should be started . thus , a secondary thread , guardian thread 524 is started , which will receive a message from queue 503 . in some embodiments , a runaway message was constructed by a method of object 514 and enqueued on queue 503 . this message can be a message that will tell the guardian thread that we need to re - optimize , because we have a runaway query . guardian thread 524 can do a receive message as indicated within object 524 . the guardian thread can do a receive message , and doit method 527 within object 526 can be executed . now , with guardian thread 524 , we can analyze the running query , and determine if there is a problem . the method can analyze the running query , and determine if there is in fact a problem . when problem detection is triggered , the currently executing plan can be interrogated ( by the secondary thread ) to identify potentially volatile constructs . examples of volatile constructs , also referred to as risky constructs or risky parts of plans , include use of techniques that restrict join order optimization such as order by / group by pushdown , or lack of consideration for more complex star join processing techniques . these constructs are likely to be the cause of why the query is not completing as expected . information about the problem may also be placed in a history log , job log or other logging mechanism . if there is a problem , the currently running plan can be re - costed or otherwise marked as risky or long running . the re - costing process in the query job can occur in a secondary thread so as not to interfere with the executing plan ( to minimize disruption should the plan ultimately complete ). during the re - costing process , potential plans that contain these constructs will either not be considered as part of the plan space or forced to be reconsidered , as applicable . in some embodiments , risky constructs or risky parts of the plan that were used in the problem query can be removed from consideration from future executions of at least this query , and the query re - costed and re - optimized , given the new information . at the completion of the re - costing process , the new plan can be enlisted in a plan cache with an indication that this new plan should be considered over the original plan that was already in the cache . at this point the progress of the originally chosen plan can be interrogated to see if it has yet reached the ‘ point of no return .’ if the database still has the freedom to replace the currently executing plan and it is viewed that this plan still has a significant amount of processing to reach completion , the database engine can be interrupted so as to replace the current plan executable with the re - optimized plan executable and re - start the execution . referring again to fig1 , the selection of physical plans can be made again , with another plan selected from database plan cache 524 . the newly selected executable plan can be put into place and a signal sent at 528 , to restart the query , as indicated at 530 . note that this restart can be done at a low level in the query processing such that the user is not aware of the change . in another embodiment , the secondary thread may choose to make environmental changes to help the currently executing plan based on its intimate query plan knowledge . for example , it may fully load some object ( index or table ) into ram which the query is faulting on , add hardware resources ( cpu , ram ) with corresponding tweaks to the running plan ( versus full reoptimizations ) so the plan can take advantage of the resource , rebuild and replace a hash table based on observed cardinalities , or migrate the task to another cpu or node , for example if a remote node is querying / updating the same tables . note that while there are techniques to extend the ‘ point of no return ’ by tracking already returned records , in practice this is not always necessary . most problem queries have a basic signature that they run for a considerable amount of time before returning any records . also , query results are normally buffered such that many records are put into the user buffer before control is returned by the database . consequently the window up to the point of no return is quite large for problem queries and often more than sufficient to detect and correct the problem . exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described largely in the context of sql . this is for ease of explanation and not for limitation . optimizing database queries is not limited to sql . in fact , other query languages exist such as xml , qry / 400 , open query file (‘ opnqueryf ’), dll and the database queries may include queries of all such query languages and many others as will occur to those of skill in the art . exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described largely in the context of a fully functional computer system for processing database queries . readers of skill in the art will recognize , however , that the present invention also may be embodied in a computer program product disposed on signal bearing media for use with any suitable data processing system . such signal bearing media may be transmission media or recordable media for machine - readable information , including magnetic media , optical media , or other suitable media . examples of recordable media include magnetic disks in hard drives or diskettes , compact disks for optical drives , magnetic tape , and others as will occur to those of skill in the art . examples of transmission media include telephone networks for voice communications and digital data communications networks such as , for example , ethernets ™ and networks that communicate with the internet protocol and the world wide web as well as wireless transmission media such as , for example , networks implemented according to the ieee 802 . 11 family of specifications . persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any computer system having suitable programming means will be capable of executing the steps of the method of the invention as embodied in a program product . persons skilled in the art will recognize immediately that , although some of the exemplary embodiments described in this specification are oriented to software installed and executing on computer hardware , nevertheless , alternative embodiments implemented as firmware or as hardware are well within the scope of the present invention . it will be understood from the foregoing description that modifications and changes may be made in various embodiments of the present invention without departing from its true spirit . the descriptions in this specification are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed in a limiting sense . the scope of the present invention is limited only by the language of the following claims .

6Physics

referring first to fig1 which best shows the general features of the invention , it can be seen that the toy roadway tile , indicated generally by the reference numeral 100 , is shown in use with similar tiles in a toy roadway system 101 . the system is shown as having a roadway of complex form on which are carried toy automobiles 102 . various suitable buildings 103 may be provided throughout the system . referring next to fig2 it can be seen that the tile 100 is provided with a main body 104 which is formed of sheet material and has a plurality of edges 109 . the main body is provided with visual land areas 105 which are associated with the top surface 106 and which serve to define a roadway 107 lying within the periphery of the main body . a tab plate 108 is attached to the bottom surface of the main body 104 and extends beyond the edges 109 thereof , so that the plate can be placed between the main body and the corresponding tab plate of another similar tile . fig3 shows the details of construction of one form of the tile 100 and it shows the manner in which the parts are assembled . it is clear that a spacer 110 lies between the main body 104 and the bottom surface of the tab plate 108 . the main body is connected to the tab plate inwardly of its edges 109 , so that the tab plate of a similar tile can be clamped between the main body and the tab plate . the tile is provided with a second main body 111 which is similar in size to the said first main body 104 and is attached to the other surface of the tab plate through a spacer 112 . the top surface of the main body 111 is provided with land areas 113 defining a different pattern of roadway as , will be explained further hereinafter . in fig3 each main body 104 and 111 is formed of sheet material and each edge of each main body is folded under to provide a resilient clamped lip 129 ( see fig5 ) between the main body and the tab plate 108 . fig4 a and 4b shows top and bottom plan views of the tiles 100 , showing a roadway 107 in the shape of a cross , whose arms terminate at the center of the sides 109 of the tile . as is evident in fig6 similar tiles 100 and 100 are joined together so that the roadways 107 form a continuous pattern . fig7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 show ways in which the tiles can be turned to provide different overall patterns of roadways . fig1 shows the manner in which a modified form of the invention in the form of a tile 116 is joined with other similar tiles to form a continuous roadway . fig1 is a perspective view of the end of the tile 116 , showing the manner in which the two main bodies are joined together main bodies 114 and 115 are joined together by means of integral triangular tabs 116 that are adapted to interlock with the main bodies and tabs of similar tiles the appearance of the tile in its front elevation is shown in fig1 ; the two main bodies 114 and 115 are joined together and are provided with a roadway 117 lying between land areas 118 and 119 . fig1 , 17 , 18 and 19 show a modified form of the tile as is evident in fig1 , the tile 120 is provided with a main body 121 with raised land areas 128 , a spacer 122 , a tab plate 123 , another spacer 124 and a second main body 125 . as is evident in fig1 , these elements are held together by rivets 126 . fig1 shows the tile 120 with the first main body 121 removed thus exposing the spacer 122 , the tab plate 123 , and the second main body 125 . as is evident in this view , the tab plate 123 is generally square in shape and is provided with a notch 127 at each corner , which notch serves to divide the outer edges of the tab plate into four tabs 128 . each tab has curved corners that engage stops provided by the edges of a spacer 124 and 122 . fig1 shows particularly well the manner in which raised land areas 128 are provided on the main bodies 121 and 125 to define the roadways it also shows the manner in which the tabs flex to form a resilient spring - like clamping means between the two main bodies . fig2 , 21 , and 22 shows the details of construction of another modified form of the invention , including a tile 130 in which it can be seen that the tab plate 131 is generally square with a bevel 130 at each corner . a spacer 133 is also shown as generally square and resides in a similarly shaped aperture 134 formed in the tab plate 131 . the main body 135 consists solely of land areas 136 formed of thick sheet material fastened by rivets 137 to the spacer 133 on the one hand and to the tab plate 131 on the other hand . as is evident in fig2 , the tab plate 131 is formed of sheet material of a first thickness and the spacer 133 is formed of sheet material of the thickness that is substantially greater than that of the tab plate . fig2 , 24 , 25 and 26 show the details of another modified form of the invention . the tile 138 is shown in fig2 as consisting of a first main body 139 which is joined through a spacer 140 to a second main body 142 . also lying between the two main bodies is a tab plate 141 having a central aperture 143 which is substantially the same size and shape as the spacer 140 except that the spacer has twice the thickness of the tab plate 141 , as is evident in fig2 . it should be noted that each side edge 144 is curved to fit a similarly - shaped curve 145 on the spacer 140 , thus acting as a stop and a locator to bring the land areas 146 into registry . fig2 and 28 show a variation of the tile in which the spacer 147 and the aperture 148 are provided with an enlargement 149 at each corner . in this variation of the invention , the tab plate 150 is provided with an edge recess 151 that defines a tab 152 which is shaped to fit a recess 153 between the enlargement 149 at the two adjacent corners of the spacer 147 thus bringing the adjacent edges of the main bodies of mating tiles together . in this version of the invention , the main body 155 is defined by the land areas 154 which are generally square in configuration . the tab plate 150 also has a square form and is larger than the main body . the spacer 147 is also generally square and is sandwiched between the main body ( as defined by the land areas 154 ) and the tab plate 150 . it lies , of course , in the similarly - shaped aperture 148 in the tab plate each edge of the tab plate is provided with a male shape adapted to fit snugly into a female shape or recess 153 formed on a corresponding edge of the spacer , so that the roadways on the two tiles will form a continuous roadway . fig2 and 30 show a modified form of the invention made up of a first main body 156 formed of sheet material , having a plurality of edges defining a plurality of corners . a second main body is fastened to the first main body and has the same general shape visual land areas 158 are associated with the non - facing surfaces of the main bodies , the land areas defining a roadway 159 within the confines of the main bodies 156 and 157 . means is provided to join the main bodies of the tile to the main bodies of a similar tile , thus bringing the edges into registry to form a continuous roadway between the tiles . each edge of the first main bodies is provided with a male shape 161 adapted to fit snugly in a female shape 162 formed on a corresponding edge of a main body of the similar tile . the said male shape 161 consists of a curved protuberance adjacent one corner of the first main body and a similar oppositely curved recess adjacent the other corner of a side , the recess and protuberance defining a straight edge between them . fig3 and 32 show a still further form of the invention in which the male shape 164 is trapezoidal in shape with rounded corners and the second main body prepares its female shape congruent with the male shape of the first main body and has its male shape congruent to the female shape of the first main body . when two tiles of this type are assembled to give the appearance shown in fig3 , the male shapes and the female shapes are alternated to lock the two tiles together and bring the straight edges of the bodies together to give a continuous roadway . fig3 and 34 show a variation of the invention in which the male and female shapes are generally semi - circular and each edge of each main body has two male shapes with a female shape adjacent it . for instance , the first main body of the tile 166 in fig3 has a semi - circular male shape 167 with a semi - circular recess 168 next to it . the other end of that side of the main body is provided with another male shape 169 and a recess 170 beside it . therefore , each male or female shape of the first main body is positioned with a shape of the opposite gender formed on the second main body so that , when a similar tile is brought into edge - to - edge relationship with the tile , the shapes take on an alternating over - and - under locking relationship . the variation of the invention shown in fig3 and 36 has a protuberance 171 and a recess 172 formed on the upper main body 173 of the tile 174 . the second main body 175 is provided with a protuberance 176 underlying the recess 172 , while a recess 177 underlies the protuberance 171 on the first main body . arranging these protuberances and recesses results in the edge 178 of the two main bodies engaging and registering to line up the roadways in the desired manner . fig3 and 38 show a still further variation of the invention in which the tile 179 is provided with alternate protuberances and recesses which serve to register the edges of the main bodies , so that they line up and make continuous the roadways on similar tiles brought into engagement with it . in fig3 and 40 the tile 180 is similarly a variation of the invention and includes a first main body 181 and a second main body 182 joined together . the main body 181 includes a protuberance 183 and a recess 184 formed along the edge 185 . similarly , the second main body 182 is provided with a protuberance 186 and a recess 187 formed along the edge 188 . extending between the main body 181 and the main body 182 is a square spacer 189 main bodies 181 and 182 consist solely of land areas whose individual sections are attached to the spacer 189 . spacer 189 functions as the roadway . referring to fig4 and 42 , it can be seen that the tile 189 has a protuberance 190 along an edge 192 , as well as a recess 191 . the protuberances and recesses engage to locate and lock the edges 192 together to provide continuous roadway structure to an adjacent similar tile . fig4 , 44 and 45 show a further variation of the invention including a tile 193 having a first main body 194 and a second main body 196 joined to a tab plate 195 . the upper surface of the first main body is provided with land areas 197 , lining a roadway 198 . normally , the second main body 196 is provided in its lower surface with land areas 199 defining a roadway 200 . as is best evident in fig4 , all of the edges 201 are provided with an inward bevel 202 , thus facilitating the slippage and entry of a tab plate of a similar tile between the main bodies 194 and 196 and the adjacent surfaces of the tab plate 195 . as is evident in fig4 , the main bodies 194 and 196 are cemented to the tab plate 195 in the central portion only by cement locations 203 and 204 respectively . fig4 shows a variation of a roadway pattern 205 on a tile 206 . the pattern is in the form of a straight roadway whose ends terminate on the centers of opposite edges of the tile . fig4 shows a roadway 207 on a tile 208 . the roadway 207 constitutes two arcs which merge together and have three terminals , each terminal being in the center of one of three edges of the tile 208 . fig4 shows a roadway 209 formed on the surface of the tile 210 , the roadway being in the form of a circle or cul - de - sac having one entry from the center of one side of the tile 210 . it can be seen , then , that the toy roadway tile in every case consists of a main body in sheet form having a plurality of straight side edges of equal length and a plurality of land areas on one surface of the main body . the land areas serve to define a pattern of roadways , including a roadway that terminates in the center of one side edge with the center line of the roadway perpendicular to the said side edge . the other surface of the tile is also provided with land areas defining a pattern of roadways , but the pattern is different from the pattern of land areas on the first surface . generally speaking , the configuration of the main body and the land areas is square . generally speaking , a first roadway pattern on a first side of the tile differs from the second roadway pattern on the other side of the tile , so that the first pattern of the tile matches the second pattern of another similar tile to provide a continuous pattern when the two tiles are placed together . in one version of the tile , the first pattern is in the shape of a cross and in a second version of the invention the pattern consists of non - contacting arcuate roadways , each joining the center of a side edge to the center of an adjacent side edge . the pattern could be a straight line of roadway joined the centers of both sides of the main body . it could also consist of two arcuate roadways that have ends that merge and terminate at the center of one side of the main body , the other end of each arcuate roadway terminating at the center of one of the sides adjacent the said one side of the main body . in one situation , the roadway pattern is a circle joined by a straight roadway to the center of one side of the main body . the operation and advantages of the invention will now be understood in view of the above description . to begin with , it is clear that the invention involves a toy which employes a mechanism for the temporary interconnection of its segments or tiles in such a way to provide a large number of potential configurations . in a preferred embodiment , an individual toy segment may be fitted to other square toy segments in eight orientations . each of these orientations may appear distinct as determined by the symmetry on the individual toy segment . the toy segments or tiles employ friction between the parts of their respective mechanisms to provide sufficiently stable interconnection while at the same time allowing disassembly without a requirement for the use of significant force . the present toy roadway tiles represent roads that have interconnecting mechanism which will not break easily , which are not difficult for a young child to assemble or disassemble , and which do not contain sharp protuberances or corners . furthermore , the roadway may be reconstructed without requiring either the use of separate pieces specifically for the purposes of fastening the toy segments together or having a framework which holds the toy segments in such a way that the perimeter of the toy is fixed and bounded . furthermore , multiple types of tiles are not necessary for the construction of varied patterns or roadways . the present invention alleviates the problems of the prior art by employing an interconnection mechanism which is integral to the toy or tile itself . this characteristic permits unbounded configurations without the possibility of the child losing ancillary or auxiliary toy parts . in addition , the mechanism permits the toy segments to be interconnected in such a way that either surface may be used , therefore , allowing for different ( but mating ) patterns to be placed on opposite surfaces of the tiles . the toy does not require any particular physical motor skills to assemble it , so that young children can use the toy . furthermore , a guiding mechanism is used to assist in the joining process . it is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof it is not , however , desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described , but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed . the invention having been thus described , what is claimed as new and desired to secure by letters patent is :

0Human Necessities

referring first to fig1 and 2 , a choke ring structure 10 is integrated in the interior skin 12 of a fuselage of a mobile platform . multiple concentric circular ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 are coaxially disposed and project outwardly from a disk - shaped ground plane 11 having a center aperture 19 for placement of a mobile platform window 34 . note that the circular window 34 is exemplary , and the invention includes non - circular window configurations , e . g ., elliptical or rectangular . if the window 34 is non - circular , the ring structure 10 conforms substantially with the geometry of the window aperture , such that the window is encircled by or contained within the choke ring structure 10 . the ground plane 11 connects the ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 to a common surface , e . g . the interior skin 12 , although in alternate embodiments , an exterior skin or an intermediate surface ( not shown ) may be the common surface . the ground plane 11 is mounted on the interior skin 12 , with the ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 projecting generally perpendicularly to the ground plane 11 , inwards to the interior of the fuselage . adjacent ring segments 14 and 16 are separated by a groove 15 ; similarly , ring segments 16 and 18 are separated by a groove 17 . ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 have flat ridge surfaces 14 a , 16 a and 18 a . the grooves 15 , 17 provide dielectric gaps between ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 . the grooves are preferably air gaps , or alternately , may include a dielectric material , e . g ., ceramic , mica , glass , plastics , and oxides of various metals such as aluminum . the present invention includes almost limitless possibilities of cross sectional profiles — i . e ., surface contours 14 a , 16 a and 18 a are shown as flat ridges , however concave , convex , waveform , pointed , and other surface contours may be employed — and dielectric combinations for the choke ring structure 10 . the dimensions of the ridge surfaces 14 a , 16 a and 18 a in relation to the depth d of the adjacent grooves 15 , 17 is predetermined by the selected resonant frequency ω for the choke ring . the resonant frequency ω has a wavelength λ t . the depth d of the choke ring is approximately determined by the following equation : the width of the ridge surfaces 14 a , 16 a and 18 a and the grooves 15 and 17 are about one quarter of the depth ( d / 4 ) of the ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 . the quarter wavelength relationship may be more precisely optimized by iteratively adjusting the choke geometric parameters to achieve maximum coupling reduction , but the general relationship of one quarter of the wavelength is generally effective . further , the number of rings 14 , 16 and 18 affects the attenuation of coupled directional power . more or less ring segments may be used , however , in the example of fig1 , through the iterative adjustment process described above the inventors have determined that three ring segments are generally more effective than a single choke ring configuration ( not shown ). an even numbers of rings may be used as well . further , by varying the depth of the ring segments 14 , 16 and 18 , and the width of the grooves 15 , 17 and ridge surfaces 14 a , 16 a and 18 a , the choke ring structure 10 may achieve an increased bandwidth of signal attenuation . thus , the geometry of the choke ring structure 10 may be designed for greater bandwidth . referring next to fig3 , a simulated fuselage section 30 illustrates the principle of operation of the present invention . a source antenna 32 represents an exemplary ped as a source of emi . the source antenna is completely surrounded by the metal skin of the fuselage 30 . the fuselage has windows 34 at intervals along the length of the fuselage , which provide a path for emi to escape the interior of the fuselage . one or more external antennas 36 may be positioned on the exterior of the fuselage 30 . a normal passenger mobile platform includes a plurality of antennas 36 for various systems , e . g ., communication and navigation systems . the antennas 36 are typically located at various locations fore and aft , and are mounted on the top or bottom centerlines of the mobile platform . for clarity , fig3 illustrates just a segment of a fuselage , having a single source antenna 32 , a single victim antenna 36 and a single window 34 . however , it will be readily understood that the present invention is applicable to multi - antennas , multi - source and multi - window arrangements such as found in a typical passenger mobile platform . the choke ring structures 10 are positioned around each window 34 of the mobile platform . when emi signals are generated by the source antenna 32 — e . g ., peds located inside the fuselage 30 , the choke rings 10 attenuate emi radiating through the surface of the fuselage by forming a directional pattern that is directed generally at right angles to a vertical center plane through centerlines of the windows and orthogonal to fuselage 30 . in this way , the strongest emi is directed away from the victim antennas 36 , and the emi signals from the source 32 diminish in strength as they propagate from the orthogonal centerline through the window 34 . thus , while some portion of the emi signals are received by the victim antennas 36 , the received emi signals are greatly attenuated relative to the intended signals , and pose significantly less risk of interference with the electronics of the mobile platform than would be possible without the choke ring structures 10 . while the choke ring structure 10 is incorporated into the interior skin of the mobile platform fuselage in the example shown in fig1 and 2 , it will be understood that the crs 10 may be installed in either or both of the inside skin 12 or the exterior skin ( not shown ) of the fuselage , or alternately , may be placed between the interior 12 or exterior skin . the choke ring structure 10 is preferably formed of metallic , electromagnetically conductive material , such as copper beryllium , monel ®, tin plated copper clad steel , powder coated aluminum , stainless steel or similar antenna material . referring next to fig4 , a graph illustrates the results of an analysis designed to compare attenuation levels for various configurations of windows with and without choke ring structures 10 . in the configuration represented by fig3 , isolation results were determined for a cylinder or fuselage 30 having the following configuration : cylinder length ( l )= 80 in . ( approx .) cylinder radius ( r )= 42 in . ( approx .) flat section ( fs ) of body = 24 in . window ( 34 ) radius = 12 in . resonant frequency = 700 mhz choke ring ( 10 ) depth = d = λ t / 3 . 5 source antenna ( 32 )— dipole within cylinder victim antenna ( 36 )— simulated mobile platform blade at top centerline the broken line 100 represents a response for a window configuration without the choke ring structure 10 . a solid line 102 represents a response for a choke ring structure 10 having only a single ring segment . in the simplest form in which the choke ring structure 10 includes a singular ring , a lower level of signal reduction is provided ; in some instances , the single - ring configuration may be sufficient to achieve a desired level of signal attenuation . finally , a dotted line 104 represents a response for a choke ring structure 10 having three ring segments . as indicated in fig4 , a tuned response occurred at 660 mhz , a slightly lower frequency than the designed resonant frequency . attenuation of the emi for the 3 - ring choke ring structure 10 was approximately 20 db greater than the configuration without a choke ring structure . there was an obvious reduction in surface current on the fuselage 30 when the emi was predicted with the three - ring choke ring structure 10 installed around the window 34 , as opposed to when emi was predicted without a choke ring structure 10 around the window 34 . fig5 illustrates the current distribution in the skin of the simulated fuselage 30 without a choke ring structure . fig6 illustrates the current distribution in the skin of the simulated fuselage when a choke ring structure having three ring segments was used . fig5 and 6 were developed during the same simulation / analysis represented by fig4 . fig5 and 6 depict the current distribution that results on the surface of the simulated fuselage . in both fig5 and 6 , the stippled areas 106 represent areas of the fuselage surface 30 where current intensity was high . the clear regions 108 represent areas of the fuselage surface 30 having low current intensity . as is apparent from the graphic representations , the area of greater current intensity was significantly greater in the ring - less configuration than for the configuration with the three choke ring structure 10 . the results for the choke ring structure 10 having three rings 14 , 16 18 resulted in predominantly low current intensity levels except for minor sidelobe areas in the immediate proximity of the window . it is known that certain frequency bands are allocated for various aviation communications and navigation systems ( e . g ., gps ), and for various peds ( cellular phones , radio and uhf broadcasts , etc .) while such frequency bands are of concern for designing the various choke ring configurations , the choke ring structure may be designed to attenuate signals in all or some of the frequency bands , depending on cost considerations , the likelihood that some peds are used more than others , and various other combinations . table 1 provides a non - exclusive listing of some relevant frequency bands applicable to mobile platform communication and navigation systems . it should be noted that the square groove configuration shown in fig1 and 2 is exemplary , and that different profiles may be employed depending on the design criteria , for example , various frequencies that are sought to be attenuated . thus , the bottom of the groove may be rounded , i . e ., concave or convex , or may converge to a point , i . e ., a sawtooth profile . different profiles may be employed to increase the bandwidth of the response . similarly , surfaces 14 a , 16 a , 18 a can be modified for adjusting the bandwidth . each particular application involves the same iterative process described above , with analysis and testing . significant geometry and / or frequency changes may result in new profiles each of which follow the same iterative process . while the present invention is illustrated in the embodiment of a mobile platform window configuration to reduce emi associated with peds from interference with electronics systems , the choke ring structures may be used to prevent emi generated from peds in other circumstances too numerous to list here . for example , passenger trains are also susceptible to emi produced from internally operated peds , and would be within the scope of the present invention , as would a stationary communications station having a metal structure with windows adjacent to antennas placed outside of the communications station . thus , the present invention may be applied in various ground - based and non - transportation related applications , as well as in mobile platform applications . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims .

7Electricity

the described embodiments are directed to a secure usb business and / or personal id card system ( inclusive of the card itself , fabrication , security software and architecture ) for allowing individuals such as patients , clients , etc ., to carry voluminous confidential records in his or her pocket , without risking tampering or invasion of privacy , and for allowing others to have access at a remote location to a full set of records via computer , in accordance with a hierarchical permissions policy . the system is herein disclosed in the context of a trusted medical record system to enable patients to carry their medical records on a business - card - sized flash memory that is shaped and adorned like a business card . however the secure usb business / id card system can also be utilized in other applications , such as : financial services cards , identity cards , and other portable record storage device applications . fig1 and 2a are a front view and back view , respectively , of the secure usb business / id card 100 which is substantially the same size as a standard transaction card or identification card and may be carried in a standard wallet . the size may range from half the size of a credit card or business card and be as large as 8 × 8 inches , the larger formats being used as identity badges . the data card 100 is a 128 megabyte to 1 terabyte wallet - sized flash memory device which can have magnetic strip or bar code capability . the data card 100 is a business - card size rectangular body including a front section ( fig1 ) bearing promotional information , and rear section ( fig2 ) bearing the functional features of the disk 100 . the card 100 is formed from plastic with a deployable usb plug 115 . the selectively deployable usb plug 115 lies within the profile of the card 100 and is selectively extendable to provide clearance for insertion into a complementary standard connector , such as a usb socket / receptacle . when the plug functionality is no longer required , the plug arrangement may be returned to a flush non - deployed state within the thin profile of the card 100 . the selective deployment of the plug arrangement is typically achieved by relative motion of the plug 115 within a channel 116 . various deployment mechanisms may be used . for example , the relative motion may be a scissor - type opening of the plug 115 relative to the plane of the card 100 . alternatively , the opening action may be by unfolding the plug 115 like a flap out of the channel 116 . still further , the relative motion may be a slide which advances the plug 115 relative to the channel 116 . the plug 115 interfaces embedded electronic circuitry in the card 110 which includes a flash memory component and control circuitry on a flexible pcb . fig2 b illustrates the usb token card embodiment with pullout usb plug 115 deployed . the plug ( or dongle ) 115 may be stored simply by sliding it into the alcove 116 in the card itself . the dongle 115 slides flush such that the card 100 maintains a traditional card form factor . when needed , the dongle 115 pulls out and can be plugged into any conventional computer usb port . the dongle 116 provides access to an embedded flex - film pc card with on - board memory of up to one terabyte of data . technology for producing pcbs sandwiched within housings of thickness less than 2 millimeters is well known in the art , and is used commercially in devices such as sd memory cards . the distal end of plug 115 carries the electrical contacts . most pcs and similar devices contain a usb port , and can thereby read and write information to / from a usb flash memory device . thus , the usb card 100 can be written , read , re - written or erased many times . business - card shaped usb tokens are relatively new but commonplace . what is not common is that the present data card 100 is flexible and is capable of bearing a magnetic strip 114 or bar code on its rear . the magnetic stripe 114 contains magnetically encoded patient id information that can be read by “ swiped ” current credit card or debit card verification readers at any location and transmitted to a server for authentication . the embedded flash memory contains up to one terabyte of digital information encrypted per permission - based content control software ( to be described ). in addition to the magnetic stripe 114 , the card 100 may include a paper strip or a specially coated strip 116 like a regular credit card to allow for a patient to sign . as an addition or alternative to the magnetic stripe 114 , the usb card 100 may be provided with a two - or three - dimensional barcode containing the same information . in this case , it is preferred that a two - or three - dimensional barcode be applied by an image transfer printed by modified large - format digital printer . the transfer is preferably applied by a selective release transfer process as set forth below . the patient &# 39 ; s partial medical records are stored on the usb readable portion of the memory , and the patient &# 39 ; s complete record is stored on a central server . when the patient presents his or her secure usb business / id card 100 , the provider &# 39 ; s office swipes the card to authenticate the user ( and preferably verifies the patient &# 39 ; s signature ), and then inserts the card in an ordinary desktop computer containing a conventional usb port . the desktop computer then asks for a password , and the user ( nurse , physician , resident , or other user ) will furnish their password . in one embodiment , the password is entered into the desktop computer , and in other embodiments it is entered twice for confirmation . the desktop computer sends an electronic “ key ” to a secure server . if the password has been recorded on the server , the key will be recognized and the secure server will respond by sending another , matching electronic key back to the desktop . when the exchange of matching keys is completed , the user will receive information that is decrypted at the individual user &# 39 ; s permitted level of access . the verification process is completed in a matter of a few seconds . it should be apparent that the card 100 offers four security measures : 1 ) passwords assigned locally according to local policy that must be known to gain access ; 2 ) central server - based security where the password must be recognized according to pre - determined rules ; 3 ) the magnetic stripe 114 is imprinted with a unique identity key to provide a third level of security ; and 4 ) a signature block for visual authentication . information is “ locked ” at some levels of access and is open at others , based on the user &# 39 ; s classification and assigned user - rights . some users will be allowed to read only parts of a record . some will be allowed to read everything . some users will be allowed to make changes to a file . some will be allowed to print and disseminate information . newly entered information is encrypted and recorded to the secure usb business / id card 100 on the spot . when a user reads , changes , or adds to a record , the transaction is recorded and it becomes part of an electronic audit trail on the permanent record . thus , if a user gives his or her password to an unauthorized party , that person &# 39 ; s entry to the system will be recorded and monitored . fig3 is a flow chart example illustrating the hierarchical security levels of the present invention . fig4 is a workflow chart illustrating an example admission sequence for a patient using the secure usb business / id card 100 . the example admission sequence will now be described with combined reference to fig3 and 4 . in this example there are four different users : admitting registrar , triage nurse , doctor , and psychiatrist . each of these users are permitted different levels of access to the information . some may be allowed to read only parts of a record , some will be allowed to read everything , some users will be allowed to make changes , and some will be allowed to print and disseminate information . specifically , the admitting registrar has access rights to basic patient information such as contact and insurance info . they are permitted to view data only to this extent as seen at # 1 . the triage nurse has access to basic patient information , admission history , and standard medical records as seen at # 2 , and has authority to view and print any of these records . the doctor has access to basic patient information , admission history , and standard as well as restricted psychiatric medical records as seen at # 3 , and is free to edit , view and print any of the foregoing as shown at # 3 . finally , the psychiatrist only has access to the restricted psychiatric medical records as seen at # 4 , but can view and print these . as seen in fig4 , patient kim klien goes to the emergency room with shoulder injuries . her first stop is the admitting registrar , where ms . klien hands her data card 100 to the registrar . the registrar verifies the datacard by checking the signature , swiping the magnetic stripe , and inserting into a computer usb port . the registrar then enters her own password , confirms it , and transfers the patient &# 39 ; s complete medical records from a central server to the on - site provider database . the workflow proceeds to the triage nurse , danielle defoe , where ms . klien hands her data card 100 to the triage nurse . the triage nurse again verifies the datacard by checking the signature , swiping the magnetic stripe , and inserting into a computer usb port . the triage nurse then enters her own password , confirms it , and proceeds to review the patient &# 39 ; s medical history . the triage nurse can access to basic patient information , admission history , and standard medical records , and has authority to view and print any of these records . the triage nurse completes her customary duties which include checking the patient &# 39 ; s vital signs . this information is keyed into the computer where it updates the provider database and is immediately written to the data card 100 . ms . klien next visits the er doctor francis field , who verifies the datacard by checking the signature , swiping the magnetic stripe , and inserting into a computer usb port . dr . field then enters his own password , confirms it , and makes an initial assessment and reviews the patient &# 39 ; s medical information , dr . field has access to basic patient information , admission history , and standard as well as restricted psychiatric medical records , and is free to edit , view and print any of the foregoing . he is alerted to a special note on the patient &# 39 ; s file . ms . klien next visits the psychiatrist doctor indra ivy , who verifies the datacard by checking the signature , swiping the magnetic stripe , and inserting into a computer usb port . dr . ivy then enters his own password , confirms it , and makes an initial assessment and reviews the patient &# 39 ; s medical information . dr . ivy has access to the restricted psychiatric medical records and can view and print these , but not the other records . he enters a new note on the patient &# 39 ; s file regarding adverse drug reactions . the workflow continues in this manner through to discharge , from station to station , with each attendant having only the information authority needed to complete their job properly . all along the workflow path an audit trail is being laid revealing who had what access to what data , and when . thousands of combinations of access policies can be set for the various users as a result of the hierarchical security software of the present invention . additionally , the encryption process allows records to be time limited . records can be programmed to expire or to become locked after the passage of time . users can be required to log on to the system for updates , thereby lessening the likelihood that a trusted medical record user will mistakenly rely on out of date information . the details of both the hardware and software will now be described in full . fig5 illustrates the distributed information protection and control system according to the invention . the information protection system includes an information system 200 accessible by a user 101 using a secure usb card 100 along with their password 162 according to the present invention . the information system 200 may be embodied using any computer apparatus that accepts data , processes the data in accordance with one or more stored software programs , generates results , and typically includes input , output , storage , arithmetic , logic , and control units , inclusive of a desktop computer , notebook computer , supercomputer , mainframe , minicomputer , workstation , server or the like . the information system 200 includes a number of standard computer components , including : non - persistent storage 210 , data readers 220 ( preferably a usb port plus a magnetic stripe reader ), processor 140 , keyboard 144 , mouse 146 , display 148 , printer 150 , adapter 152 , and communications interface 154 . the readers 220 retrieve persistent data storage from the data card 100 to the information system 200 . the non - persistent storage 210 comprises one or more storage devices used for volatile data storage accessible by the information system 200 . examples of the non - persistent storage 210 include : random access memory ( ram ), non - volatile random access memory ( n vram ), and read - only memory ( rom ). the information system 200 preferably also includes one or more information processors ( e . g ., central processing units , cpu ), keyboard , mouse , display and printer , and other standard computer peripherals as desired . the information system 200 is connected to a network 190 via a communications link . the network 190 comprises a number of computers and associated devices that are connected by communication facilities . the network 190 can involve permanent connections ( e . g ., cables ) or temporary connections ( e . g ., those made through telephone or other communication links ). examples of a network include : a local area network ( lan ); a wide area network ( wan ); a satellite link ; and a combination of networks , such as an internet and an intranet . the communications link can be established using any combination of well - known communications protocols , for example : x . 25 , atm , ssh , ssl , http , smtp , netbios , and / or tcp / ip . in accordance with the present invention , the network 190 is coupled to an authentication identification system 166 , art authentication certification system 168 , an audit server 170 , a directory service 180 , and a policy server 195 . the authentication identification system 166 comprises a system to authenticate the identity of the user 101 and patient to whom the data card 100 was issued . for the user 101 , the authentication identification system 166 can be an authentication service - type device capable of one or more types of challenge - response authentication protocols . examples of challenge - response authentication protocols include : username / password authentication , secret - question / secret - answer type authentication , or any other authentication techniques to verify the identity of user 101 . alternatively , the user 101 may identify themselves by means of a smartcard , a biometric reader ( e . g ., fingerprint reader or palm analyzer ), etc . any number of conventional authentication devices using any combination of authentication protocols may be used to augment or replace conventional username - password type authentication , as may be provided as part of the capabilities of the information system 200 . for the patient , the authentication identification system 166 verifies the identity of the patient as read from the magnetic stripe ( or barcode ) on data card 100 . the authentication certification system 168 comprises a system to generate , certify , and / or distribute cryptographic information , including cryptographic keys , to perform authentication , signing and / or other cryptological tasks to authenticate the identity of the user 101 . conventional public key cryptosystems are known and have associated cryptographic keys that can be used to encipher and decipher information . one or more cryptographic keys can also be used to authenticate the identity of the user 101 . the audit server 170 comprises a separate information system or storage device or devices accessible via the network 190 . the audit server 170 can be used for the collection , storage and analysis of auditing information obtained from one or more information systems , including any of the following exemplary systems : authentication identification 166 , authentication certification 168 , audit server 170 , directory service 180 , and policy server 195 . within the prior - art , the audit server 170 may also be referred to as a data logger or a system log . the directory service 180 comprises a system to share public and semi - public identity information regarding user 101 , as well as other known users , with those having access to network 190 . examples of the directory service 180 include : an http server , a lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) service , a relational database management system , and a microsoft exchange server . the directory service 180 can provide user - specific information , for example : personal information of the user 101 , such as name , addresses , telephone numbers , and email addresses and cryptographic keys used by the user . referring back to the non - persistent storage 210 , this includes an operating system 112 , and any number of concurrently running application processes including three in particular : application process 114 a is a word processor such as microsoft word . the operating system may be a conventional operating system such as microsoft windows ™ or linux ™, alone or in combination with a virtual operating system / virtual machine . a virtual operating system can host other operating systems . similarly , a virtual machine is a programming language interpreter ( such as java virtual machine ™ or python ™. these allow different operating systems to run on the same computer at the same time , and it prevents applications from interfering with each other . each virtual machine is like a “ machine within the machine ” and functions as if it owned the entire computer . the operating systems in each virtual machine partition are called “ guest operating systems ,” and they communicate with the hardware via a virtual machine control program called a “ virtual machine monitor ” ( vmm ). the vmm “ virtualizes ” the hardware for each virtual machine . with a virtual operating system / virtual machine the present software need not be dedicated to the microsoft operating system . a program application 116 runs within application process 214 c which runs , and enforcement agent 262 c is associated with application process 214 c . similarly , enforcement agent 262 b is associated with application process 214 b , within which os shell application 115 runs . generally , a command line interface or operating system shell or executive may be run as a type of application running in an application process , depicted as os shell 115 , examples of which include : “ command . com ” and “ explorer . exe ” for the microsoft windows operating system 112 , and the “ bash ” for the linux operating system 112 . examples of an application 116 running inside of application process 114 c include : microsoft word , adobe acrobat reader , netscape internet browser and the gnu image manipulation program . the enforcement agent 262 ( both b & amp ; c ) are instances of a software program that modifies the interface between the application process and operating system kernel , and permits additional non - discretionary access controls to be enforced without requiring changes to user application programs . in fig5 , enforcement agent 262 c is associated with application process 214 c within which program application 116 runs , and enforcement agent 262 b is associated with application process 2148 , within which os shell application 115 runs . each enforcement agent 262 controls access to the contents of secure files 240 by application 116 running within application process 214 . the access is controlled in accordance with a policy model that permits different classes of users different levels of access to the information , depending on predetermined authorization . for example , admission personnel will have access to insurance and selected personal information , however can only copy it to a selected file and nothing else . nurses , pharmacists and physicians would have policies that grant higher levels of access . individual users are granted access only to the information that they need for their specific roles in the health care process . the trusted medical record system &# 39 ; s multi - level policy capability can be custom - tailored to provide the high level of security required under the federal hippa laws , while allowing an extraordinary level of versatility and portability . if an unauthorized person tries to enter the system to read , copy or change a medical record , the trusted medical record system disallows the action and records the intrusion in an activity log and it notifies the responsible persons automatically . at the security policy server 290 , the user name , password and patient identifier are matched to a system - wide policy that is designed to comply with hippa . the system - wide policy is maintained as a data table at the security policy server 290 . fig6 is an exemplary policy data table . the policy table is arranged in rows by type of record / information , such as personal info , medical information , restricted medical information , medical records , etc . the policy table is arranged in columns by categorical status with respect to accessing the data , e . g ., patient , primary care physician , er triage nurse , resident , admitting nurse , radiologist , psychiatric , etc . defined user actions are specified in the second column , and these include view , change policy , copy / paste , modify , print , view , set date range . the security policy broker 260 implements this pre - defined policy . the security policy broker 260 interprets security policy within the context of information system 200 . there may be one or more security policy brokers 260 running in information system 200 . referring back to fig5 , one security policy broker 260 is assigned to enforcement agents 262 b and 262 c , the security policy broker 260 and the enforcement agents 262 run on the same information system 200 , and each enforcement agent 262 runs in different application processes 214 . in response to a query by the enforcement agent 262 , the security policy broker 260 determines whether sufficient authorization exists for the enforcement agent 262 to allow the requested action or actions initiated by user 101 . in other words , the enforcement agent 262 communicates with the security policy broker 260 to determine how specific user - actions should be enforced . the security policy broker 260 is also responsible for ensuring compliance with the correct security policy , whether this policy information is carried within the secure file 240 , maintained in the policy broker cache 264 , or retrieved from the security policy server 290 . each enforcement agent 262 controls access to the contents of secure files 240 by application 116 running within application process 214 , the enforcement agent 262 monitors , intercepts , and as needed , mitigates , the requested actions performed to and with the contents of secure files 240 . the enforcement agent 262 intercepts the flow of instructions between the operating system 112 and the application program 116 running in application process 214 . this interception can be accomplished in any number of ways . for example , the interception can use one or more existing application programming interfaces ( apis ) and other well - known programmatic conventions implemented by the operating system 112 . information on such interfaces and conventions can be obtained from the published documentation associated with the operating system 112 or obtained from by careful study and analysis of actual programs , or obtained using other conventional techniques . the specific design and implementation of the enforcement agent 262 depends on the operating system 112 , and includes measures to identify , detect , and as necessary , modify , the flow of instructions between the application program 116 and the kernel of the operating system 112 . by way of example , the enforcement agent 262 can be implemented on a process - by - process basis for all application processes 114 , or possibly as an enhancement to the programs and tools provided with the operating system 112 , or possibly even as an extension to the kernel of the operating system 112 . such an extension to the kernel can , for example , be implemented using a pseudo - device driver or other loaded module of the kernel executive of the operating system 112 ; or by enhancing the capabilities of the existing system - wide library routines , such as glibc or kernel32 . exe ; or by extending the capabilities of existing command level applications , such as bash , ash , or command . com , or by modifying the attributes of each application process 114 as it is created by the operating system 112 . the secure usb card 100 includes the data files for a patient which are read into the usb reader 220 upon insertion therein . these patient files include data files 130 , secure files 240 , policy broker caches 264 , and enforcement agent caches 268 . each secure file 240 contains both information to be secured ( e . g ., from a file 130 or generated by the user 101 ) and additional information according to the invention to maintain its security . the contents of a secure file 240 cannot be successfully accessed without the intercession of an enforcement agent 262 and a security policy broker 260 implementing the security policy under which the security policy broker 260 was configured . for example , the secure file 240 can contain a microsoft word file , which can be shared with others , but whose content is accessed through the use of a microsoft word application running in an application process 214 c associated with an enforcement agent 262 c . the details of the secure file 240 are discussed below in relation to fig3 . the policy broker cache 264 is used by the security policy broker 260 to retain and reuse information used to make enforcement decisions . the policy broker cache 264 can store additional information on the security policy , identity information about users of the invention , and / or other information . the policy broker cache 264 can be shared between multiple security policy brokers 260 , and / or there may be one policy broker cache 264 for each security policy broker 260 . the enforcement agent cache 268 is used by the enforcement agents 262 to store any temporary information created by applications protected by the enforcement agents 262 . information in the enforcement agent cache 268 is protected from unauthorized access . temporary information can include , for example , automated backups , automatically generated revisions , and others types of temporary files . the enforcement agent cache 268 is used to ensure that this temporary information is maintained in a protected state and that no unprotected copies of any temporary files are vulnerable to unauthorized access . the enforcement agent cache 268 may also temporarily store decrypted plaintext blocks of information otherwise contained within protected secure files 240 in an encrypted state . in other embodiments , the enforcement agent cache 268 may be shared between multiple enforcement agents 262 , and / or there may be one enforcement agent cache 268 for each enforcement agent 262 . the policy broker cache 264 and / or the enforcement agent cache 268 can include a time - to - live ( ttl ) interval , where the cached information remains authoritative for a specified interval of time . after the time - to - live interval ends , the cached information expires . the ttl interval may vary according to the specific security policy in place , and indeed , different ttl values may be used with different users , for different files , and / or with different information systems . with regard to fig5 , and in addition to the prior art connections via the network 190 , the information system is connected via the network 190 to an audit server 270 , a directory service 280 , and a security policy server 290 . the audit server 270 receives the detailed event data from the enforcement agents 262 and the security policy brokers 260 of various information systems coupled to the audit server 270 via network 190 . this event data indicates what users attempted what actions under what conditions , along with other security related information collected by enforcement agents 262 and security policy brokers 260 . the collection of these events can be directed by the security policy . in various embodiments of the invention , there may be one audit server 270 , multiple audit servers 270 , or no audit servers 270 . in the case of no audit server 270 , all information that would otherwise be sent to an audit server 270 may be stored in information system 200 . the directory service 280 contains additional information associated with users required for the operation of the information systems utilizing the current invention . such additional information includes , for example : identity records 510 ( see below ) and other configuration data for the enforcement agents 262 and security policy brokers 260 specific to users 101 of the invention . in various embodiments of the invention , there may be one directory service 280 , multiple directory service 280 , or no directory service 280 . in the case of no directory service 280 , all information that would otherwise be sent to a directory service 280 may be stored in information system 200 . the security policy server 290 provides updates to the security policy broker 260 on the security policy for the information system 200 . depending on the security policies of a given organization and the privileges of the user 101 , the information system 200 may be permitted to function for periods of time without a connection to the security policy server 290 , depending on information stored with the policy broker cache 264 and enforcement agent cache 268 . if such disconnected operation is permitted , the actions of the user 101 can be further restricted while the information system 200 is in a disconnected state . in addition to the initial activation of the information system 200 , the information system 200 at other times can access the security policy server 290 for additional security policy information . for example , the information system 200 can access the security policy server 290 periodically , non - periodically , and / or in response to rules established in the security policy itself . in various embodiments of the invention , there may be one security policy server 290 , multiple security policy servers 290 , or no security policy servers 290 . in the case of no security policy server 290 , all information that would otherwise be sent to a security policy server 290 may be stored in information system 200 . the security policy obtained from the security policy server 290 may be specific to a given person , a particular information system , or both . such person - specific information can include , for example : authentication - related credentials ( e . g ., passwords , cryptography keys , biometric attributes , and authentication tokens ); and references to various authenticated - related information located elsewhere via the network 190 ( e . g ., passwords , cryptography keys , biometric attributes , and authentication tokens ). the security policy information obtained from the security policy server 290 can be stored for an indefinite period of time in the policy broker cache 264 , a defined period of time in the policy broker cache 264 before needing refreshment by the security policy server 290 , or retrieved from the security policy server 290 each time it is required . in other embodiments , the security policy broker 260 can obtain authentication related information from the security policy server 290 , the authentication identification system 166 , authentication certification system 168 , and / or the directory service 280 . the security policy broker 260 can also make use of authentication mechanisms provided in the operating system 112 . fig7 illustrates a secure file 240 of the distributed information protection and control system of fig5 . the secure file 240 includes a header section 310 and a payload section 320 . conceptually , the secure file 240 can be considered a container in which files 130 are placed for safekeeping , where the header section 310 contains the information describing how the secure tile 240 is assembled and the payload section 320 contains the actual information being protected . the header section 310 includes secure file identification 312 , a security policy namespace 314 , a version 316 , and a manifest 318 . the secure file identification 312 includes a quasi - unique identifier to identify the secure file 240 without relying upon any operating system specific attributes ( e . g ., file name ). conventional techniques to generate a quasi - unique identifier include , for example : generating a sufficiently large pseudo random number which may be used as a quasi - unique identifier ; issuing sequentially numbered identifiers from some agreed upon location ; and generating identifiers in a relational database . the security policy namespace 314 includes an identifier specific to the security policy under which the secure file 240 is being managed . conventional techniques to assign such an identifier include , for example : using the fully qualified domain name of security policy server 290 , expressed as a string of ascii characters ; and the distinguished name ( dn ) of an ldap entry within the directory service 280 . the version 316 identifies the revision level of the format for the secure file 240 . for example : a pair of numerical values expressing a major and minor revision number ; and the url of a formal extensible markup language ( xml ) data type definition ( dtd ) describing the format of the secure file 240 . the manifest 318 provides details of the payload section 320 and includes one or more manifest records 330 ( illustrated in fig6 ), where each manifest record 330 further describes a payload 340 present in the payload section 320 . each manifest record 330 in the manifest 318 corresponds to a specific payload 340 in payload section 320 . for the exemplary secure file 240 in fig5 , the manifest 318 includes four manifest records 330 , where the first manifest record 330 corresponds to the directive payload 322 , the second manifest record 330 corresponds to the primary payload 324 , the third manifest record 330 corresponds to the ancillary payload 326 a , and the fourth manifest record 330 corresponds to the ancillary payload 326 b . fig8 illustrates a manifest record 330 . there is one manifest record 330 for each payload 340 in the payload section 320 of a secure file 240 . each manifest record 330 includes an offset 332 , a descriptor 334 , a security label 336 , and one or more crypto keys 338 . the offset 332 includes offset pointers and other bookkeeping attributes useful for randomly accessing individual blocks of information the payload section 320 associated with the manifest record 330 . information maintained within offset 332 may be advantageously used with information maintained within the crypto - keys 338 , thus permitting this same random access to encrypted payloads 340 in the payload section 320 . the descriptor 334 is used to at least differentiate between different types of payloads 340 in the payload section 320 ( e . g ., a directive payload 322 , a primary payload 324 , and an ancillary payload 326 a , 3268 ), and may also include additional descriptive information specific to the payload 340 . the descriptor 334 can include , for example , the same types of file - type information that are conventionally associated with files , or other types of file - system specific information were associated in the file 130 from which the payload 340 originated at the time when the secure file 240 was created . such file - type information can include , for example : a file name , a file extension type , a creation date , size of the file , and a character encoding method ( e . g ., unicode , utf / 8 , iso latin 1 ). the security label 336 includes an encoded representation of a security label 460 ( in fig1 ) associated with the corresponding payload 340 in the payload section 320 . the security label 336 can be cryptographically protected ( e . g ., digitally signed and / or encrypted ). the crypto keys 338 include the cryptographic information used to encrypt the secure file 240 . examples of information contained in the crypto keys 338 include : cipher modes , cipherkeys , public keys , private keys , and pki certificates . in various embodiments , some or all of the cryptographic information may be advantageously stored in other locations ( e . g ., a smartcard or fips - 140 type device connected to information system 200 ), and the crypto keys 338 contain one or more pointers or references to this remotely stored information . crypto keys 338 may themselves also be encrypted and protected , using any number of conventional ways used to protect similar types of cryptographic information . a frequent problem associated with many prior art cryptographic implementations is the requirement to decrypt the entire ciphertext of a file in order to access just a small section of the plaintext . just as most operating systems permit quasi - random access to a block within a given file , the invention advantageously provides a technique for the enforcement agent 262 to access and decipher any arbitrary payload block ( e . g ., 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 , or 349 ) of a payload 340 in the payload section 320 that may be encrypted . more specifically , the present invention permits the use of blocks cipher modes that allow cryptographic operations to be performed on arbitrary blocks within a secure file 240 , thus permitting random - access cryptologic operations to the underlying cleartext in each payload 340 within payload section 320 . this capability is the so - called random - access property associated with some block cipher modes . for example , cipher block chaining mode ( cbc ) ciphers permit parallelizable decryption , thus permitting random - access read operations to a file , and electronic code book ( ecb ) mode ciphers permit parallelizable encryption and decryption , thus permitting random - access read and write operations to a file . referring back to fig7 , the payload section 320 includes zero or more directive payloads 322 , a primary payload 324 , and zero or more ancillary payloads 326 ( illustrated as ancillary payload # 1 326 a , . . . , ancillary payload # n 326 b ). the directive payload 322 can include a security directive record 410 ( fig1 ) associated with a security label 460 ( fig1 ). the security label 460 can be , but need not be , the security label 336 associated with the manifest record 330 of payload 340 . the directive payload 322 can be cryptographically protected . to facilitate the enforcement of the security policy , the enforcement agent 262 provides the contents of the directive payload 322 to the security policy broker 260 . the security policy broker 260 can obtain information directly from other authoritative sources ( for example , the security policy server 290 and / or the directory service 280 ) to ascertain if the directive payload 322 remains current , and to verify the accuracy of any digital signature ( s ) associated with directive payload 332 , if present . the payload section 320 can include multiple directive payloads 322 in various embodiments , for example : one directive payload 332 for primary payload 324 and all ancillary payloads 326 ; one directive payload 332 corresponding to each primary payload 324 and ancillary payload 326 ; and zero or more directive payloads 332 corresponding to one or more primary payloads 324 and any ancillary payloads 326 . the primary payload 324 contains the exact same information contained in file 130 to be protected and controlled . the primary payload 324 can also contain information generated by the user to be protected and controlled . the primary payload 324 , as with the directive payload 322 and ancillary payloads 326 , may be cryptographically protected ( e . g ., digitally signed and / or encrypted ). the ancillary payloads 326 contain other types of information associated with the file 130 , or other information , to be protected and controlled . each ancillary payload 326 is composed of an ordered sequence of bytes , characters , or other atomic elements of storage in a fashion similar to that of the primary payload 324 and utilizes the same storage semantics dictated by the underlying file system . ancillary payloads 326 can also be used to distribute the information to be protected across multiple payloads , thus permitting different security directives to be associated with different sections of the secure file 240 . for example , if a file 130 to be protected is composed of both text and images , the text can be placed in the primary payload 324 and assigned one security label 336 , and the images can be placed in one or more ancillary payloads 326 and assigned the same and / or other security labels 336 . by way of example , this flexibility permits the invention to protect the contents of a complex html file composed of multiple mime blocks by distributing each of the mime blocks into their own ancillary payloads 326 within the secure file 240 . advantageously , this capability could also be used to apply security labels 336 and security directives to elements of information more granular than that of an entire file 130 , allowing each element to be protected and controlled differently . examples of such information elements include subsections of files , linked or embedded objects within a file , storage allocation within databases ( e . g ., tables , rows , columns , and cells ), or any other addressable element of digital or digitized information . this capability permits , for example , having a single version of a file , but different users having different views of it , based on which elements they were authorized to access . fig9 illustrates a typical payload 340 ( e . g ., a directive payload 322 , a primary payload 324 , or an ancillary payload 326 ) in the payload section 320 . each payload 340 is an ordered set of logical blocks . for example , the payload 340 includes payload block 1 341 , payload block 2 342 , payload block 3 343 , payload block 4 344 , and payload block n 349 as the last logical block . to ensure ongoing compliance with the security directives associated with the contents of secure file 240 , it is important that the information contained within the secure file 240 cannot be accessed through some means other than via the enforcement agent 260 and security policy broker 262 . however , it is still be possible to use other programs and utilities to act upon the secure file 240 as a whole , without explicitly taking action on its contents . for example , secure files 240 may be backed up to archival media , copied to floppy diskettes , and / or distributed by email . the invention uses cryptography to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the information within secure files 240 , while still permitting these secure files 240 to be handled by the operating system 112 . thus , while a user may still use any “ discretionary ” abilities afforded to them by their information system 200 and distribute secure files 240 to others , the information within these secure files 240 still remains sacrosanct and the ciphertext within cannot be successfully be decrypted without proper authorization . further still , since proper authorization and decryption takes place under the supervision of the enforcement agent 262 and security policy broker 260 , the information contained within this redistributed secure file 240 remains under the protection and control of the security policy being enforced by the enforcement agent 262 and security policy broker 260 . any conventional cryptographic techniques can be used to digitally sign and / or encrypt the contents of secure file 240 , or any portion thereof . examples of conventional encryption techniques include : public key cryptosystems ; symmetric key cryptosystems , such as block ciphers and stream ciphers ; cryptographic hash algorithms , such as sha - 1 , md5 , and hmac algorithms ; and digital signing and verification . the cryptographic keys are stored and protected using conventional techniques . examples of conventional cryptographic key techniques include : passwords and passphrases for the protection of cryptographic keys ; and fips - 140 type storage devices . in various embodiments of the invention , any of the data structures used by the invention can be encrypted and / or digitally signed . for example , if security label 336 is digitally signed by the security policy server 290 , the security policy broker 260 verifies the validity of this digital signature before attempting to look up the corresponding security directive record 410 . fig1 illustrates a security directive 400 of the invention . the enforcement agent 262 and security policy broker 260 use security directive records 410 associated with each secure file 240 to determine how the security of each such secure file 240 is to be maintained . more specifically , security directive record 410 is associated with a specific payload 340 within a secure file 240 , and different payloads 340 may be associated with different security directive records 410 . the security label 336 , 460 is the mechanism through which a security directive record 410 is associated with the object it protects . however , in addition to protecting secure tiles 240 , the invention may also be used to protect different types of resources , including both hardware components within the information system ( e . g ., printer 150 , communication interface 154 ) and software constructs within the information system ( e . g ., files 130 , directories , named - pipes , communications protocols ). target 480 identifies a component of the information system 200 , and represents any hardware or software element within an information system 200 that the security policy broker 260 has been configured to protect . each target 480 has an associated security label 460 , which directs the security policy broker 260 to the security directive record 410 associated with the target . for example , the target 480 can identify : a secure file 240 ; a communications interface 154 ; a printer 150 ; usb reader 220 ; and a folder , a directory , or other file organization structure within usb reader 220 . the security label 460 is an electronically encoded representation of a humanly readable artifact ( e . g ., a text string , symbol , glyph , or other marking ) which can be made apparent to user 101 in any number of ways . for example , the security label can be made apparent to user 101 by being : shown on the display 148 ; rendered on hardcopy by the printer 150 ; or captured as part of the name of the secure file 240 placed in usb reader 220 . the security label 460 is not limited to simple text and may include any marking or indicia . this flexibility allows , for example , security labels 460 to be encoded in different languages , allowing meaningful country - specific word choices ; without incurring the administrative overhead of having to maintain a large number of identical security directives . for targets 480 that are within secure files 240 , security labels 460 and security directive records 410 are used to apply non - discretionary access controls to each payload 340 contained within the payload section 320 of secure file 240 . the enforcement agent 262 accessing the specific manifest record 330 associated with each payload 340 passes the security label 336 contained within manifest record 330 to a security policy broker 260 . the security policy broker 260 is then able to determine the security directive record 410 associated with that security label 336 under the current security policy . the mechanism used to associate a security directive records 410 with non - file targets varies depending upon the specific architecture of each operating system 112 ( or virtual operating system / virtual machine ), and the manner in which an enforcement agent 262 is configured . for example , unix and unix - type operating systems represent hardware devices and software constructs as file - like devices ( e . g ., / dev , / proc /), and a pseudo - device driver can be used to associate an enforcement agent 262 with these components . the security directive 400 is formed as a data structure and the relationships between the components of the data structure are illustrated in fig1 . the arrowheads in fig1 ( and in fig1 ) do not refer to directionality , but instead indicate the type of relationships between components . a single black arrowhead ( e . g ., between security directive record 410 and security classification record 470 ) indicates exactly one , and can be read as : “ security directive record 410 has exactly one security classification 470 .” a double black arrowhead ( e . g ., between security directive record 410 and security label 460 ) indicates one or more ( 1 +), and can be read as : “ security directive record 410 has one or more security labels 460 .” a double outline arrowhead ( e . g ., between rule record 412 and c - list record 434 ) indicates zero or more ( 0 + or 0 / 1 / 1 +), and can be read as : “ rule record 412 has zero or more c - lists 434 .” a single outline arrowhead ( e . g ., between security directive record 410 and crypto - flags 462 ) indicates zero or exactly one ( 0 / 1 ), and can be read as : “ security directive record 410 has zero or one crypto - flags 462 ”. the logical structure of security directive 400 begins with the security directive record 410 . the various components of the security directive record 410 can be referred to as records , although other types of data structures and / or formats can be used to implement this logical structure . for example , the logical structure can be implemented using : arrays , linked lists , data sets , b - trees , queues , and lookup tables . the security directive record 410 includes one or more rule - related records 416 , a security classification 470 , zero or more security labels 460 , and zero or one crypto - flags 462 . in other embodiments , instead of having both rule - related records 416 and a security classification 470 , the security directive record 410 includes one or more rules - related records 416 and zero or one security classification 470 , or the security directive record 410 includes zero or more rule related records 416 and a security classification 470 . the rule - related records 416 include rules that specify how specific actions and conditions are to be handled with respect to the payload 340 of a secure file 240 or other target 480 . any specified conditions must be satisfied before the application 116 is permitted to perform the specified actions . the rule - related records 416 include r - list records 414 , rule records 412 , a - list records 424 , c - list records 434 , e - list records 444 , s - list records 454 , action records 420 , condition records 430 , event records 440 , and subject records 450 . each r - list record 414 includes one or more rule records 412 . each rule record 412 includes zero or more a - list records 424 , zero or more c - list records 434 , zero or more e - list records 444 , and at least one s - list record 454 . each a - list record 424 includes at least one action record 420 . each c - list record 434 includes at least one condition record 430 . each e - list record 444 includes at least one event record 440 . each s - list record 454 includes at least one subject record 450 . the rule - related records 416 include elements referred to as lists , although other types of data structures and / or formats can be used , for example : arrays , linked lists , data sets , b - trees , queues , and lookup tables . an action record 420 comprises any activity performed upon the target 480 of a security directive record 410 . examples of actions include : opening and closing a payload 340 of a secure file 240 ; making changes to a payload 340 of a secure file 240 ; making a copy of a payload 340 of a secure file 240 ; making a copy of secure file 240 ; deleting a secure file 240 ; creating a new secure file 240 ; printing a payload 340 of a secure file 240 ; printing a screen capture of display 148 while payload 340 is visible ; unauthorized printing of unsecured files to secured printers ; transmitting a copy of a secure file 240 to another party through email or the network 190 ; transmitting unsecured files through a secured communications device to a destination outside of the local area network ; and placing copies of unsecured files on secured diskette drive . a condition record 430 comprises any condition or conditional expression that can be measured or evaluated within the context of the information system 200 . examples of conditions include : restrictions on time of day a payload 340 within a secure file 240 can be accessed ; the availability of a low - latency network connection to the network 190 ; and how the identity of a subject in the subject record 450 must be authenticated . an event record 440 ( also referred to as an auditing event record ) comprises an auditing - related activity associated with a given rule and causes an audit record to be written , depending upon the specifics of the event . examples of events include : the creation of auditable records when a given rule is evaluated by the security policy broker 260 ( i . e ., a rule - evaluated event ); when an action associated with a given rule is permitted to take place by the security policy broker 260 ( i . e ., a rule - allowed event ); and when a given action associated with a given action is not permitted to take place by the security policy broker 260 ( i . e ., a rule - denied event ). a subject record 450 comprises one or more users and / or processes against which the rule record 412 applies . examples of a subject record include : joe b . smith ; and all employees . different types of action records 420 , condition records 430 , and event records 440 can be applicable to different types of secure files 240 , depending on , for example , the nature of the secure file 240 , the format of the secure file 240 , the application being used to manipulate the secure file 240 , or how the secure file 240 is used . for example , a secure file 240 having auditory information can have an associated action record 420 of “ play - through - speaker ,” while this same action has no meaningful semantic equivalent for a secure file 240 having jpeg information . conversely , a secure file 240 having jpeg information can have an associated condition record 430 of “ black - and - white image ,” while this same condition has no meaningful semantic equivalent for a secure file 240 having auditory information . the security classification record 470 advantageously allows security classification of large numbers of targets 480 into compartments or categories in a manner that simplifies the management of the protections afforded by the invention . the security classification record 470 is a category or compartment to which confidential information is assigned to denote the degree of damage that unauthorized disclosure might cause . depending upon the specific security policy , any number of such categories can be defined . the security classification record 470 includes a security level 474 and zero or more security compartments 472 . the security level 474 comprises a hierarchical representation of the relative confidentiality associated with the security directive 400 , as exemplified by the policy table of fig6 . one or more security levels can be determined for the security policy . for example , a company or government agency may desire that information be hierarchically organized according three security levels of classified , secret , and top - secret . in some embodiments , security level 474 can be represented as a numerical value , where lower - valued security levels represent less confidential information , and higher - valued security levels represent more confidential information . each security compartment 472 is a non - hierarchical attribute of the security directive 400 . the security compartments 472 permit further compartmentalization ( which may also be referred to as compartmentization ) for a security level 474 . compartmentalization provides a technique to add additional security - related categories that allow information to be managed and shared between users only to the extent required for the performance of their individually assigned duties . in other words , compartmentalization may be conceptually thought of as a mechanism of dividing information into categories so that some users may be granted permission to access information in one category , and not another . the use of compartmentalization techniques provides a mechanism for implementing the “ need to know ” principle common to many secure environments . the crypto - flags 462 specify what cryptographic techniques , if any , are associated with the security directive record 410 . if no cryptographic techniques are to be used , the crypto - flags may indicate this condition , or the crypto - flags may be omitted . the crypto - flags 462 dictate the type of cryptography , if any , that the security policy requires for target 480 . examples of crypto - flags 462 include : specific algorithms that can or must be used ; allowed cryptographic key lengths ; specific requirements for crypto - key storage ( e . g ., only use fip - 140 type device ); and other crypto - related requirements or specifications . the crypto - flags 462 do not necessarily include a specific cryptographic state , such as an actual cryptographic cipher key but specify the mandated cryptographic techniques . the data structure of the security directive 400 can be stored in a variety of locations , including , for example : the policy server 280 ; the directory service 270 ; the policy broker cache 264 ; and a secure file 240 . in most cases , however , the canonical copy of any given security directive record 410 associated with security directive 400 is maintained by the security policy server 290 with copies of the these records temporarily stored in other locations for the convenience of processing without always requiring a networked connection to the policy server 290 . for example , a copy of the rule - related records 416 associated with the security directive record 410 can be part of the directive payload 322 of the secure file 240 . the rule - related records 416 can then be loaded and temporarily maintained within the policy broker cache 264 . in another embodiment , the rule - related records 416 can be retrieved as needed from the policy server 290 . in another embodiment , a portion of the rule - related records 416 can be stored as part of the directive payload 322 of the secure file 240 , and another portion of the rule - related records 416 can be retrieved as needed from the policy server 290 . by requiring retrieval from the policy server 290 , the security policy can be updated for secure files 240 that have previously been distributed to information systems . in other circumstances , for example for non - file targets 480 , the security directive record 410 associated with a target 480 may be implicitly specified as part of the initialization of the security policy broker 260 for the information system 200 . the security directive 400 can be dynamic . any of the components of the security directive 400 can be modified in any way , at any time , by an authorized party or process , and the resulting changes are honored by all subsequent enforcement decisions rendered by the security policy broker 260 . for example , if the rules - related records 416 are modified , upon retrieving the updated security directive record 410 , security policy broker 260 determines policy for targets 480 associated with security label 460 according to the modification . if a large number of secure files 240 have the same security label 460 , all of the secure files 240 are protected and controlled according to the modified rules of the security directive 400 . fig1 illustrates an identity 500 of the invention and its relationship to a user 101 and a security directive 400 . the security directive 400 of fig1 is the same as the security directive 400 of fig1 but is not depicted with all components for the sake of clarity . the identity 500 can be associated with a user 101 . examples of a user include : a person or persons ; a role or position ; an automated process ( e . g ., a software daemon , agent , or process ); a physical automated agent ( e . g ., as a robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle ); “ batch - type ” programs that run with other periodic interaction with real persons ; various system services which run in process context specific ( e . g ., “ mail daemon ” running under the pseudo - identity of “ mail ”); and programs the run on behalf of the system itself ( e . g ., “ telnet ” or “ sshd ”). the identities 500 are stored within the security policy server 290 and / or the directory service 280 . the identity 500 specifies the manner by which the security policy broker can authenticate user 101 and the security clearance that user 101 is authorized to bold . an identity 500 is created for user 101 by a competent authority . the relationship between the user 101 and the identity 500 is illustrated with a user - identity relationship 514 . the user - identity relationship 514 is verified via the authentication credentials 520 . the invention can utilize any number of prior art authentication methods and protocols to validate and verify the identity 500 of user 101 , and thus validate the user - identity relationship 514 . the logical structure of identity 500 begins with the identity record 510 , and the relationships between the components of the data structure are illustrated using the same relationship notations used in fig4 . the various components of the identity record 510 can be referred to as records , although other types of data structures and / or formats can be used to implement this logical structure within the invention . for example , the logical structure can be implemented with : arrays , linked lists , data sets , b - trees , queues , and lookup tables . the identity 510 includes one or more authentication credentials 520 , one or more security clearances 570 , and zero or more authorization directives 580 . each authentication credential 520 includes a password 522 , zero or more token 524 , zero or more biometric 526 , and zero or more crypto - keys 528 . in other embodiments , the authentication credential 520 can includes at least one of a password 522 , a token 524 , a biometric 526 , and crypto - keys 528 , or any combination of them . other prior art identity verification techniques can also be employed . the password 522 is a shared secret , known to both the authentication identification system 166 and the user 101 . the password 522 can be a conventional text string ( e . g ., alphanumeric ) or can be any information type determined by the user 101 as secret information to obtain access to the information system 200 . other embodiments may utilize any type of secret information that can be shared between user 101 and the security policy server 290 and readily provided by user 101 when requested . the token 524 contains information specific to the hardware authentication token permitted to be used to authenticate the identity of user 101 . examples of the token 524 include : the type of hardware authentication protocol being used ; the location of the authentication identification system 166 to be used ; and other types of hardware - specific authentication information that may necessary . the biometric 526 contains information specific to the biometric authentication device permitted to be used to authenticate the identity of user 101 . examples of the biometric 526 include : the type of hardware authentication protocol being used ; the location of the authentication identification system 166 to be used ; and other types of biometric hardware - specific authentication information that may necessary . the crypto - keys 528 contain cryptologic information necessary to authenticate the identity of user 101 based on one or more cryptographic keys . for example , if pki - based authentication is being used , crypto - keys may contain the public key of user 101 signed by a recognized certificate authority . all of the authentication credentials 520 , including password 522 , token 524 , biometric 526 , and crypto - keys 528 are based on well known and well established prior art authentication techniques and protocols . different embodiments may implement these various authentication credential records 520 in different ways . in some embodiments , the security policy broker 260 may also rely upon any authentication mechanisms provided as part of the operating system 112 in information system 200 . each clearance record 570 provides the security clearance authority given to the user 101 . each classification record 570 includes a security level 574 and zero or more security compartments 572 . the security clearance is a property associated with users , and the security classification is a property associated with targets . thus , the security compartments 572 and the security level 574 of the identity record 510 mirror the security compartments 472 and the security level 474 , respectively , in the security directive record 410 . the authorization directive 580 constrains what protections and controls user 101 may apply to information . the authorization directive 580 is used to apply non - discretionary controls that user 101 may be mandated to apply with regards to targets 480 of security directives 400 . the authorization directive 580 specifies what elements of the security policy ( e . g ., security labels 460 and security directives records 410 ) must and / or may be applied by user 101 . each authorization directive 580 has the same form as a security directive record 410 , can contain all of the information contained in a security directive record 410 , and further specifies the circumstances and conditions under which the included security directive record 410 applies . to determine if the user 101 can perform the requested action to a secure file 240 ( or other target 480 ), the security policy broker 260 performs a clearance - classification check 516 and an identity - subject check 518 . to perform the clearance - classification check 516 , the security clearances 570 of the identity record 510 and the security classification 470 of the security directive record 410 are compared . more specifically , the security compartments 572 and the security compartments 472 are compared , and the security level 574 and the security level 474 are compared . to pass the clearance - classification check 516 , the security clearances 570 of the identity record 510 must dominate ( e . g ., via the bell - lapadula domination rule ) the security classification 470 of the security directive record 410 . for this embodiment , to pass the clearance - classification check 516 , the security compartments 572 must include ( or be as large as ) the security compartments 472 , and the security level 574 must be at least as great as the security level 574 . to perform the identity - subject check 518 , the subject 450 associated with the security directive record 410 is used . the security policy broker 260 authenticates the identity 500 of user 101 using one or more of the authentication credentials 520 associated with the identity record 510 . based on the strength of the results from the identity - subject check 514 , the security policy broker 260 ascertains if user 101 satisfies the rule 412 . the identity - subject check 518 is performed when a subject record 450 is present in the security directive record 410 . fig1 illustrates a flowchart for creating a secure file 240 in relation to fig5 - 11 . in block 601 , the user 101 is enrolled in the distributed information protection and control system . an identity record 510 is created by / for the user 101 and stored in directory service 280 . the creation of the identity record 510 may require additional identity records 510 , a subset of such records , and / or appending additional data to existing records in the directory service 280 . in block 602 , the user 101 initializes the information system 200 . as part of the information system 200 initialization , the enforcement agent 262 b can be associated with operating system shell 115 in application process 214 b . additionally , the security policy broker 260 can be initiated to work with enforcement agent 262 b . in block 603 , the user 101 is authenticated . the information system 200 matches the user 101 with the identity 500 and associated identity records 510 . the matching is accomplished with the authentication credentials 520 . the user 101 may be required to reply correctly to authentication challenges by the information system 200 . if the user 101 provides the appropriate response ( s ) based on the authentication credentials 520 , the user 101 is matched with the identity 500 and associated identity records 510 . in other embodiments , the matching can occur using any conventional techniques . for example , the information system can match the user 101 based on authentication techniques implemented by the operating system 112 . once authenticated , the information system 200 matches the user 101 with identity 500 , and this user - identity relationship is illustrated in fig5 with the dotted line 514 . in block 604 , an application is loaded . the user 101 starts up the application 116 within the application process 214 c . in some embodiments , the invention is in either an active state or an inactive state . for the active state , when the operating system 112 loads application program 116 into non - persistent storage 210 , enforcement agent 262 c is associated with the application process 214 c . the enforcement agent 262 b associated with the operating system shell 115 monitors the application processes that the operating system shell 115 loads into the non - persistent storage 210 . when the operating system shell 115 loads the application process 114 c into the non - persistent storage 210 , the enforcement agent 262 b assigns the enforcement agent 262 c to the application process 114 c ( transforming it to application process 214 c ). for the inactive state , enforcement agent 262 b does not assign enforcement agent 262 b to application process 114 c , in which case secure files 240 can neither be created nor accessed by application 116 in application process 114 c . in other embodiments , various actions within this flow could cause enforcement agent 262 c to be assigned to application process 114 c . in block 605 , user 101 loads a file 130 using the application 116 . loading a file 130 can include , for example : creating content ; opening an existing file , 130 ; and manipulating the application 116 ( e . g ., a file manager ), which does not open and load a file 130 in the same manner as an application normally used to create and manipulate that type of file 130 , but which may take certain actions on the file 130 . in block 615 , the user 101 requests to save the file . enforcement agent 262 c intercepts the resulting data - saving request made by the application process 114 c to the operating system 112 . in block 620 , the security policy broker 260 determines , based upon the authorization directive 580 , that the user 101 must protect the file 130 and proceed on to block 630 . if authorization directive 580 does not require that user 101 protect file 130 or if an authorization directive 580 does not exist , the user 101 has an option to choose whether to protect the file 130 . if the user 101 chooses not to protect the file 130 , the flow ends at block 660 , and the application 116 conventionally saves the file 130 . in block 625 , the user 101 requests to protect the file . in some embodiments , this request can originate from the user 101 selecting this action via the title bar icon 804 ( fig1 ). in other embodiments , this request can be initiated through a separate application program or utility . in block 630 , user 101 selects a security label 460 to be associated with the secure file . the security label 460 is assigned as security label 336 with the manifest record ( s ) 330 of the payload ( s ) 340 within which the information contained in file 130 is to be stored . if the user 101 selects to assign a previously defined security label 460 , flow proceeds to block 635 . if the user 101 selects to create a new security directive 400 , flow proceeds to block 640 . only the security labels 460 that the user 101 is authorized to assign ( including the option to create a new security label 460 ), as specified in authorization directive 580 , are offered to the user 101 for selection in block 630 . in block 635 , the security policy broker 260 retrieves the security directive record 410 corresponding to the selected security label 460 . the security policy broker 260 can retrieve security directive records 410 from , for example : the policy broker cache 264 and / or the security policy server 290 . in block 640 , user 101 creates a new security directive 400 . creating a new security directive 400 entails creating a security directive record 410 . in block 645 , the security policy broker 260 validates that the user 101 is authorized to apply the selected security label 460 as the security label 336 of the manifest record 330 for the secure file 240 . if user 101 created a new security directive in block 640 , the new security directive is validated . the validation can include verification of the authentication credentials 520 , if required by security directive record 410 . if user 101 is authorized to apply security label 460 , flow proceeds to block 650 . if the user 101 is not authorized to apply the selected security label , flow returns back to block 630 or continues to block 655 . if , at block 620 , the user 101 was required to protect the file , but user 101 does not select an authorized security label 460 , user 101 is unable to save the file 130 as secure file 240 . in some embodiments , if in active state , user 101 is prohibited from saving file 130 . in block 650 , the enforcement agent 262 c generates the secure file 240 , with file 130 becoming the primary payload 324 , and applies the cryptographic techniques as required by the crypto - flags 462 of the security directive record 410 . the manifest record 330 of primary payload 322 contains security label 336 , as selected via blocks 630 , 635 , 640 , and 645 . the security policy broker 260 can require the user 101 to present authentication credentials 520 to perform acts of cryptographically signing one or more parts of the secure file 240 . the enforcement agent 262 c and the security policy broker 260 can communicate with the directory service 280 to determine various identity information on potential recipients of the file 130 , such as identity group resolution , contact details , and crypto - keys . if desired , enforcement agent 262 c can securely delete file 130 at step 650 . in block 655 , if required , the security policy broker 260 logs the creation of the new secure file 240 to the audit server 270 . if , at block 645 , user 101 was denied authorization to apply desired security label 260 , security policy broker 260 may log the attempted security label 260 to audit server 270 . logging may be required by the security directive record 410 associated with the selected security label 336 , as specified within the e - list 444 . in block 660 the flow ends , when the user 101 closes the file 130 , or when the user 101 closes the file 130 without saving or protecting the file 130 . in another embodiment , secure file 240 may not be physically created in usb reader 220 until user 101 chooses to save file 130 . fig1 illustrates a flow chart for accessing a secure file 240 in relation to fig5 - 11 . in block 700 , the information system 240 is running properly , and blocks 601 - 604 have been performed . in block 705 , the user 101 requests to access a secure file 240 via application 116 c in application process 214 c . enforcement agent 262 c intercepts the request made to the operating system 112 by the application process 214 c accessing the secure file 240 . in block 710 , the enforcement agent 262 c determines if the selected secure file 240 can be accessed . the enforcement agent 262 c checks the user - identity relationship 514 using the authentication credentials 520 . if the user 101 passes the check , the secure file 240 is accessed , and flow proceeds to block 715 . if the enforcement agent 262 c and security policy broker 260 are not available , the operating system 112 can start the enforcement agent 262 c and the security policy broker 260 . if the enforcement agent 262 c or the security policy broker 260 cannot be found or started , or if user 101 fails the check ( i . e ., cannot provide the required authentication credentials 520 to validate the user - identity relationship 514 ), flow proceeds to and ends at block 780 , and the user 101 cannot access the secure file 240 . in block 715 , the enforcement agent 262 c provides the security policy broker 260 with header section 310 of the secure file 240 . in block 720 , the security policy broker 260 obtains the security directive record 410 associated with the security label 336 for the primary payload 324 . the security directive record 410 can be contained , for example , within the directive payload 322 of the secure file 240 , within the policy broker cache 264 , and / or retrieved from the security policy server 290 . if the security directive record 410 is located within the directive payload 322 , the enforcement agent 262 c forwards the security directive record 410 to the security policy broker 260 . in other embodiments , the enforcement agent 262 c can provide callback functions to the security policy broker 260 to retrieve the directive payload 322 . in block 730 , the security policy broker 260 performs a clearance - classification check 516 and an identity - subject check 518 . to perform the checks , the security policy broker 260 accesses the security classification record 470 and the subject records 450 for the security directive record 410 . as discussed above , the clearance - classification check 516 is performed using the security clearance records 570 of the identity record 510 associated the user 101 and the security classification records 470 of the security directive record 410 associated with the security label 336 . as discussed above , the identity - subject check 518 is performed using the identity record 510 and the subject record 450 . if user 101 passes , flow passes to block 735 . if user 101 fails either the clearance - classification check 516 or the identity - subject cheek 518 , user 101 is denied access to the payload 340 of secure file 240 , and flow proceeds to block 770 . in block 735 , the enforcement agent 262 c determines whether the crypto - keys 338 from the manifest record 330 corresponding to the payload ( s ) 340 being accessed within the secure file 240 can be accessed . the crypto - keys 338 of the secure file are accessed via the crypto - keys 528 for the identity record 510 . crypto - keys 338 may be required in order to decrypt a payload 340 , but crypto - keys 338 may also be encrypted . in various embodiments , various mechanisms may be employed to provide enforcement agent 262 c with access to crypto - keys 338 to decrypt payload 340 of secure file 240 . for example , enforcement agent 262 c may communicate with policy server 290 to have crypto - keys 338 decrypted and re - encrypted in such a manner that crypto - keys 528 are able to access crypto - keys 338 . as another example , enforcement agent 262 c may retrieve crypto - keys 338 , which are stored on security policy server 290 rather than within manifest record 333 . as a further example , payload 340 may not be encrypted . if the crypto - keys 528 for the identity record 510 decrypt crypto - keys 338 , flow proceeds to block 740 . if the crypto - keys 528 cannot decrypt crypto - keys 338 , user 101 is not permitted access to payload 340 , and the flow proceeds to block 770 . in block 740 , the enforcement agent 262 c loads one or more payloads 340 from the payload section 320 of the secure file 240 into non - persistent storage associated with application process 214 c , provided that user 101 has the required authorization to access the desired payload blocks 341 , 342 , 343 , etc . it is possible that different payloads 340 ( e . g ., primary payload 324 and each ancillary payload 326 ) have different security labels 336 and , hence , different associated security directive records 410 , such that user 101 may be authorized to access one payload 340 but not another . any encrypted blocks can be decrypted by the enforcement agent 262 c using the accessed crypto - keys 338 . thus , application 116 within application process 214 c is able to reference primary payload 324 , just as if it were the original file 130 . in block 750 , the user 101 requests an action on the information in a payload 340 of the secure file 240 . the enforcement agent 262 c intercepts the request from the application 116 in application process 214 c to the operating system 112 . in block 755 , the security policy broker 260 evaluates the requested action by checking rule - related records 416 of the security directive records 410 to determine if the user 101 is permitted to perform the requested action . additionally , as an option , the security policy broker 260 can again verify the user - identity relationship 514 . for example , the user 101 can be required to provide and / or revalidate authentication credentials 520 prior to being authorized for the action . if the rule - related records 416 of the security directive records 410 has action records 420 , the security policy broker 260 notifies the enforcement agent 262 c that the user 101 is authorized for and / or prohibited from the actions of the action records 420 . if rule - related records 416 has condition records 430 , the security policy broker 260 determines if the condition records 430 are satisfied , and notifies the enforcement agent 262 c whether or not the association action should be permitted . if the action is permitted , flow proceeds to block 760 ; otherwise if the action is not permitted , flow proceeds to block 765 . in block 760 , user 101 is authorized , and the security policy broker 260 notifies the enforcement agent 262 c that the user 101 can continue with the request . enforcement agent 262 c passes the request made by application 116 c to the operating system 112 . in block 765 , user 101 is not authorized , and the security policy broker 260 notifies the enforcement agent 262 c that the user 101 cannot continue with the request . the enforcement agent 262 c prevents the action from occurring by not permitting the intercepted request made by the application process 214 c to proceed to the operating system 112 , and providing an appropriate response to the application 116 within application process 214 c . in other embodiments , this response may emulate operating system request - return values . in other embodiments , this response may include request - return values specific to the invention . the enforcement agent 262 c can also present an error message 825 ( see fig1 ) to the user 101 via the display 148 . in block 770 , the user 101 is denied access to the contents of secure file 240 , as a result of decisions made in blocks 730 or 735 . in block 775 , the result of previous block steps 760 , 765 , and 770 are audited , if required by security directive records 410 . if the security directive record 410 has event records 440 , the security policy broker 260 and / or the enforcement agent 262 c supplies a record audit of the events to the audit server 270 . such audit logs may , for example , contain information such as : the secure file identifier 312 of the secure file 240 ; the identity record 510 of the user 101 ; identification of the information system 200 ; the security label 460 ; the application 116 ; the action attempted ; the conditions , relating to condition records 430 ; and the success or failure of the requested action . in other embodiments , the enforcement agent 262 c can access the audit server 270 periodically , non - periodically and / or “ on demand ” when an event occurs . in some embodiments , auditable events may be temporarily stored in the enforcement agent cache 268 by enforcement agent 262 c , and in the policy broker cache 264 by the security policy broker 260 , prior to their being transmitted to audit server 270 . as long as the user 101 continues to access secure file 240 , flow proceeds from block 775 to block 750 . the enforcement agent 262 continues to intercept requested actions , and the security policy broker 260 continues to intercept these actions in the manner so described ( blocks 750 - 775 ). any additional files created in persistent storage by application 116 that are associated with the contents of secure file 240 ( e . g ., temporary files , earlier revisions of the file , and backups of the file ) are stored either within enforcement agent cache 268 or as other secure files . if the crypto - flags record 462 of security directive record 410 specifies that such information is to be encrypted , all such additional and / or temporary files are encrypted appropriately . the presence of the invention in the information system 200 can be indicated to the user 101 in a variety of ways ( e . g ., visual and / or audio ). for example , for operating systems 112 with a graphical user interface (“ gui ”), such as microsoft windows or x - windows , the presence of the invention can be shown visually , and user 101 can be provided with various gui elements for interacting with the invention . sound , and other acoustic indications , can also be used to facilitate user interaction in a manner appropriate to the operating system and user - interface . fig1 illustrates an exemplary user interface for the display 148 of the information system 200 . as an example , if the operating system 112 is microsoft windows , a task bar icon 802 can be displayed within the task bar 800 as a visual gui - based indication of the presence of the invention . this task bar icon 802 can also provide pictorial representations of the state of the enforcement agents 262 b , 262 c running within the application process 214 b , 214 c . the user may “ click on ” or otherwise select this task bar icon 802 to further reveal a task bar menu 805 with additional choices . with the menu , the user 101 can , for example : change the state of existing enforcement agents 262 ; change the state of all enforcement agents 262 ; and access other command and control functions provided by the invention . the task bar icon 802 and task bar menu 805 may be managed by the security policy broker 260 or by an independent software process created solely to provide these user - interface constructs . continuing with this example , if an enforcement agent 262 is assigned to an application process 214 having gui elements , a title bar icon 804 in the title bar 806 in the window 808 for the application process 214 can be provided . the title bar icon 804 indicates whether the information displayed in window 808 is contained in a secure file 240 , and displays the associated security label 460 ( i . e ., determined by the security label 336 associated with the manifest record 330 of the payload 340 containing the displayed information ) as application window label 820 . if information is being displayed from multiple payloads ( e . g ., both primary and ancillary payloads ), the label 820 of title bar 806 of the application window 808 is updated appropriately . if application process 214 has multiple application windows 808 , each title bar icon 804 and application window label 820 will reflect the security label associated with the information specific to that window . the title bar icon 804 of window 808 can further be selected to reveal a security policy broker menu 815 . for example , the user 101 can , if authorized : convert a file 130 to a secure file 240 ; view currently authorized actions on the payload 320 of secure file 240 ; and modify security directive records 410 . selecting one or more of these options may cause the security policy broker 260 to launch additional dialogs for user input and / or output , as required by the information being manipulated . within some application processes 214 , such as a file manager , menu 815 may be appended to a context menu , often associated with a secondary mouse button click , such that user 101 may select a file 130 and display security policy broker menu 815 . other informational messages 825 may be displayed as needed , in a fashion common to gui display , by the enforcement agent 262 or security policy broker 260 . in some embodiments , the graphical elements of the invention ( e . g ., title bar icon 804 , application window label 820 , menu 815 , and message 825 ) are implemented using conventional gui constructs provided by the operating system 112 that are outside of the direct control of application 116 displaying information within window 808 ( e . g ., within the window manager itself , and not the application ). thus , the graphical elements associated with the invention are unapparent to and exist outside the knowledge and control of application 116 . in general , an operating system graphical user interface ( e . g ., the desktop in microsoft windows ) is used for the operating system 112 , and an application graphical user interface ( e . g ., a window in microsoft windows ) is used for an application 116 . the operating system graphical user interface and / or the application graphical user interface can be adorned with additional elements to identify the enforcement agent 262 and / or the security policy broker 260 . further , a task bar icon 802 or equivalent of the operating system graphical user interface and / or a title bar icon 804 or equivalent of the application graphical user interface can be used to identify the enforcement agent 262 and / or the security policy broker 260 . other embodiments for operating systems 112 utilizing a gui may use similar techniques to allow the user to control and interact with the invention . in other embodiments without a conventional gui , other exemplary forms of interacting with the user may be used , depending upon the capabilities provided in the operating system . to illustrate the operation of the invention outside the medical records context , another example is provided . consider a company that establishes an information classification scheme with five security levels ( with values 0 to 4 ) and four security compartments ( called hr , fa , sm , and sm ). the five levels , in ascending order of confidentiality , along with their corresponding semantics are : public ( level 0 ), official - use only ( level 1 ), internal - use only ( level 2 ), company confidential ( level 3 ), and restricted ( level 4 ). the four compartments are associate with various aspects of the company &# 39 ; s business units : human resources ( fir ), finance and accounting ( fa ), sales and marketing ( sm ), and product development ( pd ). the company &# 39 ; s security directives 400 stipulate that in the absence of file - specific rules , a user may have read - only access to the payload 320 of a secure file 240 only if their individual security clearance level ( i . e ., security level 574 ) is greater than or equal to the classification level ( i . e ., security level 474 ) associated with the information contained in a secure file 240 . example users in the company include : bob , the vice - president of sales and marketing , with a non - compartmentalized security clearance 570 of “ restricted ” ( level 4 ), as well as security clearances 570 of sm - 4 and fa - 3 ; marie , bob &# 39 ; s assistant , with a non - compartmentalized security clearance 570 of level 2 ; and alice , a human resources manager with a non - compartmentalized security clearance 570 level 3 , as well as security clearances 570 of hr - 3 and fa - 2 . a security directive 400 of the company requires that only senior human resources personnel may create and share information related to employee salaries . an increasing number of regulations also require that the company protect personal and private data . the invention implements this security policy to ensure that an employee &# 39 ; s salary , which is deemed private , is not released to unauthorized individuals . to meet this security directive 400 , the company defines security directive record 410 with a security label 460 , salary , which has a security classification record 470 of hr - 3 ( i . e ., a security level 474 of 3 and a security compartment 472 of hr ). additionally , the security directive record 410 has a security classification record 470 of hr - 3 for actions other than read via an action record 420 . in other words , users with a general clearance record 570 having a security level 574 of 3 or higher can only read salary labeled secure files , unless the user also has a clearance record 570 having a security compartment 572 of fir at a security level 574 of 3 or higher . further , the rules 416 in the security directive record 410 for salary also permit only users who are members of the human resources department identified via a subject record 450 to label files as salary via an action record 420 and that any denied actions be audited via an event record 430 . alice creates a salary report for the company as a secure file 240 using , for example , microsoft excel and selects the security label 460 for the secure file 240 , which is incorporated as the security label 336 in the secure file 240 . alice sends the secure file 240 with the salary report as an email attachment to a distribution list via , for example , microsoft outlook . bob receives the secure file 240 and is permitted to open it , since he has a security level 574 of 4 . i however , when bob attempts to print the report or to copy its content to another document , the enforcement agent 262 prevents him from doing so , as he does not have a clearance record of iir - 3 . due to the enforcement agent 262 of marie &# 39 ; s information system 200 , marie , who has access to bob &# 39 ; s e - mail , is unable to open the secure file 240 because she has only a security level of 2 . bob &# 39 ; s denied attempt to print the secure file and marie &# 39 ; s denied attempt to read the secure file are captured in the audit logs of the audit server 270 for the company . on the other hand , tom , another human resources manager with a security clearance record with hr - 3 has full control over the salary report in the secure file and may copy , modify , or redistribute the secure tile according to the rules in the security directive record 410 for salary . if an authorized individual determines that bob should access to the salary report , a variety of techniques can provide bob with this ability . one option is to give the identity record 510 of bob a clearance record 570 with i - ir - 3 , which would allow him full control of the salary report in the secure file 240 as welt additional authorization on other secure files 240 which include a payload 320 with a security label 336 of hr - 3 . another option is to add a rule in the security directive record 410 for salary that permits printing by all individuals with a general clearance record 570 of level 4 . yet another option is to add a rule in the security directive record 410 for salary that allows anyone in the company with the title of vice - president or above to print secure files having a security label 336 of salary . if bob intentionally or unintentionally attempts to forward the secure file 240 with the salary report to a colleague , joe , at another company , joe may not receive the secure file 240 . for example , the rules 416 of the security directive record 410 for salary would likely not allow sharing such information with external entities . if joe did receive the secure file 240 , joe is unable to access the salary report . if joe does not have the invention ( i . e ., enforcement agent 262 and security policy broker 260 ) running on his information system , the received secure file 240 would be unintelligible to his information system 200 . if joe does have the invention running on his information system 200 , it is unlikely that he would have a security level 574 of 4 for a security clearance record 570 from bob &# 39 ; s company . additionally , a hacker who managed to pilfer the secure file 240 from alice , bob , marie , or joe would be unable to access the salary report of the secure file without being able to break the encryption and structure of the secure file 240 . in this example , all users are interacting only with their applications 116 , such as microsoft excel for manipulating spreadsheets and microsoft outlook e - mail client . the users do not need to leave their familiar environments . in alice &# 39 ; s case , an additional step is required to assign the security label 460 of salary to the salary report . she does not need to understand the complexities of the data classification scheme in the company and only needs to know that she must label secure files 240 containing salary data as salary . the recipients , such as bob and marie , of the email with attached secure file of the salary report open the attachment in the same manner as all other attachments are opened . if bob uses a different spreadsheet program than alice , for example openoffice or microsoft works , the invention behaves in an identical manner and enforces the security directive 400 of salary . the above - described secure usb business and / or personal id card according to the present invention bears full - color external text and / or graphics , including a unique two - or three - dimensional barcode applied by an image transfer printed by a modified large - format digital printer . the transfer is applied by a selective release transfer process in which the adhesive layer attaches only in the image area to the target surface and the adhesive layer is peeled off except for the image area which is left attached to the target surface . this produces a high - resolution four color graphic inclusive of white , which is used to apply the three - dimensional barcodes at potential volumes of upward of 200 , 000 per day . it is envisioned that the usb business and / or personal id card may contain any combination of : the name or logo of the company ; office address , individual name , telephone numbers , fax , and email address . the opposite side of the card could contain pertinent information concerning its use or other promotion materials . this card could be used as an identity card , driver license , insurance card , financial services card , credit card , prescription drug cards , medicaid card , and internet transaction card . the outside of the card could contain : a bar code , including 2 and 3 dimensional codes ; a photograph ; and other biometric information that can be printed on the outside of the card . the present invention therefore includes the digitally - printed transfer bearing a digitally created image that can be heat and / or pressure - applied to a target surface , and a method for transferring the digitally created images from film to a target surface via digital printing and heat and / or pressure transfer or printed directly on the card using conventional ink jet technologies . the heat transfer process employs a modified digital printer ( converted from a double sided fusing printing process to a back fusing web printing process ) to create an image on transfer film subsequently coated with adhesive that is then heat and / or pressure - applied to a substrate to yield a high - resolution four color graphic with white . the basic fabrication steps comprise 1 ) coating one side of a disposable base transfer film ( or carrier ) with a releasable coating ; 2 ) digitally printing one or more images overtop the base transfer film in reverse - image format ; and 3 ) applying an adhesive coating over the image . the result is a roll of pre - printed transfers . in accordance with the present method for transferring the digitally created images from film to a target surface , 4 ) the base transfer film is indexed over a target substrate ( image down and showing through the film ) and heat and / or pressure is applied to the base transfer film to adhere the image to the target substrate . the base transfer film is peeled from the target substrate and is discarded , leaving a high - resolution color graphic image on the target substrate . the method is described in detail below with various options , and in all cases the method is unique because when the image is transferred there is “ selective release ”, meaning that there is transfer to the target substrate only in a pre - determined area ( most commonly in the specific area of the print image , though for some applications it may be desirable to have a release that includes non - imaged areas ), despite the adhesive coating which may , and indeed , usually exceeds the borders of the printed image . this selective release improves the quality of the transfer because there are no unsightly borders or margins around the image , and holes and gaps in fairly complex images are not filled in . fig1 is an exploded diagram showing the layers of an exemplary image transfer 2 according to the present invention . the image transfer 2 includes a disposable base transfer film 11 . this can be any suitable transfer carrier formed of plastic or non - woven material and that is capable of being passed as a web through the production machinery . for example , the presently preferred transfer film 11 is polyester teraphthalate ( pet ). in accordance with one optional feature of the present invention , the transfer film 11 may be preformed with distinct surface patterns or texture to give the final transfer a textured aesthetic . an image release layer 12 is uniformly applied onto the base transfer film 11 . image release layer 12 may be , for example , a wax , lacquer , or combination of wax and lacquer , with or without specific additives . the application of the image release layer 12 may be attained by applying the wax and / or lacquer onto the base transfer film 11 in individual coats from either solvent or waterborne solutions or suspensions . it is known from experience that the final parameters of the coating can be adapted to any requirement by the changing coating weights , the addition or substitution of resins , waxes and wax solutions , and there are many conventional coating methods that can be used to achieving a desired coat weight . the appearance of the final coating can be full gloss or be matted down to the required level by the addition of matting agents . when applied the release layer 12 must be uniform , and free from all coating defects and application patterns ( except where a coating pattern is an intended aspect ). the presently - preferred release layer 12 comprises a lacquer mixture of commercially available polymethyl methacrylate resin with a commercially available wax suspension ( byk 151 ex - samual banner ). the ratio of resin to wax is on the order of 80 % to 95 % resin to 5 % to 20 % wax . these two components are provided in a 5 % to 15 % solid solution ( depending on method of application ) in a butanone and toluene solvent blend ( of which toluene is around 10 % of the total solvent ). the release layer coating is then forced air - dried giving a dry coat weight coat weight of 1 . 15 to 1 . 35 grams per square meter . the image 13 itself is then digitally printed with a four color graphic ( as will be described ) on the transfer film 11 ( overtop release layer 12 ). the digital printer may employ either electro - ink or dry powder toner , and otherwise conventional print techniques . preferably , a registration mark is printed at this same time , and when desired the four - color image 13 ( and registration mark ) is then overprinted with a white background 14 . finally , a pressure and / or heat activated adhesive layer 15 may be applied evenly over the whole of the web , both where there is image and no image , or may be selectively applied only in the image area . presently , the adhesive layer 15 is applied in line directly after the printing step using a 3 . 5 % to 4 % solution of commercially available polyamide ( lioseal v 7036 ex - flenkel ) in a solvent system , which is predominately isopropyl alcohol . this solution is then coated onto the image 13 and / or transfer film 11 by a wire wound rod at a dry coating weight of 0 . 2 to 0 . 3 grams per square meter , the applied coating being forced air - dried . to then transfer the digitally created image from the transfer film 11 to a target surface , the base transfer film 11 is placed on a target substrate and is indexed in position using the index lines ( image down and showing through the film ). the adhesive layer is then heat and / or pressure - fused to a subject material and the image itself 13 adheres more strongly to the material than does the image release layer 12 . thus , when the image transfer film 11 is applied image - down to a target substrate by application of pressure and / or heat ( as will be described ), the dried adhesive layer 15 attaches to the target substrate only in the image 12 area but is otherwise retained by the transfer film 11 (“ selective release ”). to then apply the transfer 2 , the image transfer film 11 is peeled off the target substrate together with the dried adhesive layer 15 except for the image area which is left attached to the target substrate by the pressure and / or heat activated adhesive layer 15 . for this to happen , the thickness of the non - printed areas of release layer 12 and adhesive layer 15 must be thinner than printed areas containing the release layer 12 , image 13 and adhesive layer 15 such that more pressure is exerted where there is image to the target substrate than where there is no image . the characteristics of the image release layer 12 , the adhesive layer 15 and the image layers 13 , 14 are selected so as to work with a wide variety of target substrates , including textured and porous materials such as leather to give this selectivity . fig1 is a block diagram of all necessary process steps for making and applying the above - described transfer 2 . this printer can be any conventional digital printer that uses either electroink ™ or dry powder toner , or other conventional print techniques . for example , a xeikon ™ large format digital printer is suitable . this and most other large format digital printers employ heater roller assemblies and fusers generally contained within a protective housing . a toner image is transferred to a sheet or web and is then fixed to the web by heat and / or pressure . typically the paper is transported in a nip between the fuser and pressure roller , which are rotating . thermal radiation from a lamp heats the fuser roller , causing the toner on the web to melt and press into the web fibers . in accordance with the present invention , the printer is modified to essentially convert it from a front and back fuser system to a back fusing web printing process . the modification initially entails disabling the heaters in the infeed module removal of the front fusers ( substep 22 ) and removal of the gem rollers 24 . specifically , for a xeikon digital printer , the front fusers and part nos . cns - 1262 - 015208 32d ( gem roller ) would be removed as seen in fig1 . in addition , the print color order is changed from the conventional cmyk to kmcy the current process uses a plastic web in roll form for the base transfer film 11 of fig1 and pre - coats this with the release layer 12 which may be a releasing lacquer , a wax , a release coating , or a combination of any of these as described above . at substep 42 it is necessary to mix the releasing layer ( lacquer , wax , coating , or combination of any of these ). the lacquer , wax and release coating are custom - mixed to create the correct release factor for a range of heat and pressure used . a suitable wax release can be mixed with a combined acrylic nitrocellulose overlacquer for this purpose . if desired , the release layer 12 may be texturized or mixed with specific additives , such as ultraviolet absorbers or biocides , to give the release layer specific properties . for example , the release layer 12 may be texturized with a distinct carrier surface pattern ( matte or scratch ). since the image is printed onto the release layer 12 and is then transferred , the net effect is to impart the surface pattern onto the surface of the transfer . most any texture or pattern that can be made to the surface of the release layer 12 , for example , embossing , etching or addition of a solid component , e . g . silica . in each ease this is transferred when it is applied to the target substrate . these changes can be aesthetic for example , matte , brushed effect , geometric pattern , regular pattern or random pattern . the effect can also be subtle such as wording , images or patterns that are only visible with light shining on the surface at a particular angle , thereby serving as a simple security device . as another example , the release layer 12 may contain a functional additive that confers a property to the transfer 2 that is not present in the transfer without the additive . for example the addition of 1 % of an anti - microbial additive such the transfer surface as applied to a target will inhibit bacteria . inorganic , silver - based antimicrobials are generally recognized as safe and are well suited for this purpose . the addition of a small percentage ( less than 10 %) of a uv absorber will protect the toner image from degradation in color intensity due to prolonged exposure to direct sunlight . the addition of a phosphorescent or fluorescent additive will make the transfer “ glow ” when uv light is shined onto it . this addition can be used in conjunction with the above - described surface pattern , making the effect easier to detect . the image is designed into a vector image file , or scanned into a raster image file , in both cases using four color cmyk pixilation . as seen at substep 32 , the emblem graphic design may be generated using computer drawing software . this is generally accomplished using graphics programs such as well - known adobe illustrator ™, photoshop ™, etc . such software is capable of calculating the image dimensions from the design , and colors are chosen from a selectable palette . photoshop software developed by adobe uses a palette technique in which the image data is coded and compressed to a prescribed number of colors ( a range of from 256 to 16m colors depending on the selected palette ). the image file can be manipulated as desired to resize / rescale , redraw or alter the coloration . the final image is then saved as a cmyk raster image file . given a prepared image , at substep 44 the image is printed directly from the raster image file and at substep 46 an additional toner drum of white toner ( w ) is used to print a white overprint . the process imprints electrostatically charged toner or inkjet images onto the base transfer film 11 . the process prints the desired image , laying on colors in registration patterns in the order black , magenta , cyan , yellow ( kmcy ), and finally white , instead of the cmyk patterns that are applied by an unmodified xeikon . the printing of a white layer of color at substep 66 is unique to the invention and this improves contrast by filling in blank areas . when working on the design computer white is seen as black . white cannot be seen on the screen . the black image ( the part we want to be white ) is given a specific reference , for example , pantone 100 . this specific reference number is added as a fifth color that the xeikon combines with the normal cmyk colors of the design , and yet printing this reference color as white as it has been programmed to do . next , at step 5 , the mixed release layer 12 is applied to the plastic transfer film 11 . the release layer 12 is applied over the whole surface of the base transfer film 11 using conventional coating machine . at step 6 a water or solvent based adhesive is applied over both the image ( with nor without white ) and the areas that do not contain a printed image . these areas may include parts of the image that have intentionally been left clear of print for example between numbers , backgrounds to let the substrate be seen through the print , etc . the transfer 2 is now complete . finally , at step 7 , the image transfer 2 may be applied to a wide variety of materials including rough and / or porous materials such as leather . at substep 72 the image 13 may be transferred to the substrate material by a roller - to - substrate process , or through a heat - stamping process , in both cases using conventional presses . in both cases the differential pressure of the transfer film 11 with toner versus the transfer film 11 without toner is the factor that controls the selective release according to the present invention . more specifically , at substep 74 the dried adhesive on the printed area of the image 13 encounters more pressure due to the additional thickness added by the toner , and thus the printed areas of image 13 attach to the target material . after the transfer film 11 contacts the target substrate , the transfer film 11 may be peeled away . the printed image 13 transfers to the target substrate as the web separates . the adhesive on the printed area attaches to the target surface and pulls the printed image off the transfer film 11 and onto the target substrate . the process does not leave a “ lacquer halo ” around the printed images as in conventional transfer processes . where a heat - stamping process is used , the stamping press may be used a second time directly onto the transferred image to imbed the printed image into the selected substrate . this differential pressure is obtained by the difference in thickness between the areas of the film that are imprinted with the image 13 and areas where there is no image . although it is imperceptible to the naked eye , the transfer 2 is thicker in the areas where the toner has been applied . the image is transferred selectively through the interaction of the release layer , image and adhesive and the target substrate . the release layer and adhesives being specifically formulated to exploit this differential pressure . the invention has generally been described for use in security of an information system . the invention can be used for other applications , for example : version control ; archiving and destruction ; monitoring and gathering usage metrics of various components of an information system ; indexing and retrieving files ; valuation ; resource allocation ; and ownership management . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention , including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims .

6Physics

it should be understood that in the following description , terms such as upper , lower , horizontal etc . are used merely for illustrative purposes . referring now to the drawings , a locking device constructed in accordance with this invention consists of two parts : a buckle and an insert . the buckle 10 has an upper member 12 shown in fig1 - 4 having a curved top wall 14 . at the center of the top wall there is a circular hole 16 with an enlarged or countersunk mouth as at 18 . as shown in fig2 - 4 , the upper member 12 is almost completely hollow , having a cavity 20 except for a portion 22 disposed at one longitudinal side of the member 12 . this portion 22 is provided with a horizontal slot 24 . portion 22 also has an indentation 26 substantially coextensive with slot 24 . the buckle 10 also has a lower member 28 shown in detail in fig5 - 8 . this member 28 is arranged and constructed to form an interference fit with upper member 12 when inserted into cavity 20 . the member 28 includes a concave wall 30 . at the center in wall 30 , there is a large circular hole 32 . the wall 30 also has two diametrically opposed horizontal sections 34 , 36 . a plurality of smaller holes 38 are provided at the four corners of the wall 30 as shown . the holes are countersunk as at 40 . as best seen in fig7 on the bottom , member 28 has a plurality of cylindrical bosses 42 corresponding to holes 38 for reinforcing the member . the member 28 is also provided with a substantially circular wall 44 following hole 32 , except at one of the edges of sections 34 , 36 . as seen in fig7 wall 44 has one wall portion 46 following one edge of section 34 , while along section 36 , wall 44 has a wall portion 48 diametrically opposite wall portion 46 . holes 38 , with walls 42 and countersinks 40 cooperate to accept and hold screws , such as a wood screw 50 , for securing the lower buckle member 28 to an object . furthermore , each of the sections 34 , 36 has a curved indentation as at 52 , 54 concentric with hole 32 . the locking device further includes an insert 56 , shown in detail in fig9 - 14 . the insert includes a cup - shaped insert portion 58 with a concentric indentation 60 . two keyways 62 , 64 are provided around the indentation , preferably spaced at an angle of about 90 ° as shown . a circular boss 66 is secured to the bottom of insert portion 58 extending downwardly . the boss is used to hold securely a paddle 68 with two arms 70 , 72 extending diametrically away from the boss and curving slightly downwardly . the cup - shaped insert portion 58 also has an outer flange 74 . the insert 56 is attached to the buckle upper member 12 as follows ( see fig1 a ). insert portion 58 is first placed into hole 16 with flange 74 resting on mouth 18 . paddle 68 is then inserted on boss 66 and is secured to insert portion 58 by gluing or other similar means . in this manner , the insert 56 is rotatably disposed in hole 16 . now , the locking device is ready for mounting . the upper member 12 of locking device 10 may be mounted in any known manner to a first object , which may be for example , a cover 76 . for example , an edge of cover 76 may be inserted into horizontal slot 24 as shown in fig1 a . member 12 then , may be secured to cover 76 by sewing , pressing , etc . member 28 is secured to a second object 78 , which may be a part of a hot tube enclosure , by inserting screws 50 through holes 38 . alternatively , member 28 may be seamed to the second object by other well - known means such as spikes with balls , rivets , etc ., the exact seaming means depending on the nature of object 78 . the first object ( i . e . the cover ) then may be fastened and / or secured to the second object ( i . e . the enclosure ) in two steps . first the upper member 12 of the buckle is snapped over the lower member 28 . in this step the paddle 68 is positioned so that it may be inserted between the two sections 34 , 36 as shown in fig1 . once the upper member is positioned properly over the lower member ( as shown in fig1 - 20 ), insert 56 is rotated by about 90 ° as shown in fig1 forcing paddle 68 under the sections 34 , 36 . preferably the members 12 , 26 and insert 56 are dimensioned so that as the insert is turned an interference fit is formed between the paddle and the section 34 , 36 . the rotation of the paddle is stopped when the paddle comes into contact with wall sections 46 , 48 . the insert may be rotated for example with a specially shaped tool adapted to engage at least one of the keyways 62 , 64 . the keyways may also be used to indicate whether the paddle is in the opened or closed position . in this manner the locking device can be used to firmly secure an object to another . the locking device can be opened and closed with relative ease , yet it will resist strong winds and is infant - proof . obviously numerous modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

a user may create a schematic with a computer - aided design ( cad ) software , such as integrated computer aided design ( icad ) made by fujitsu . the term ‘ schematic ’ as used herein includes any data file generated or altered by a computer , such as , for example , component diagrams , circuit diagrams , printed wiring board ( pwb ) diagrams , signal timing diagrams , engineering diagrams , assembly diagrams , manufacturing drawings , graphics , photographs , images , charts , tables , lists and other figures . the schematic often has ‘ line art ’ text , which is inserted when the schematic is created and is considered a part of the schematic . in some cad programs , such as icad , the size , spacing and style of line art text in the schematic cannot be altered by a user . after creating the schematic , the user may convert the schematic into a portable document format ( pdf ) file with software , such as adobe distiller . the converted pdf schematic may be opened with adobe acrobat reader . when a user searches for text in the converted pdf schematic with software such as adobe acrobat reader , the software will not recognize line art text . [ 0028 ] fig1 a illustrates the difference between an exemplifying multi - spaced font 100 ( also called non - mono - spaced font or multi - width font ) and an exemplifying mono - spaced font 102 . in multi - spaced fonts , the width or horizontal space that each character occupies ( both text and assigned white space ) may be vary from character to character when typed , depending on the width of the character itself . for example , in the multi - spaced font 100 , the letters ‘ f ,’ ‘ l ’ and ‘ t ’ occupy less horizontal space , i . e ., have a different width , than the letters ‘ a ,’ ‘ g ,’ ‘ o ,’ ‘ e ’ and ‘ r .’ the multi - spaced font 100 compensates for letter differences to conserve space and improve legibility . most conventional fonts are multi - spaced fonts . if line art text in schematics created by a cad software is embedded with multi - spaced font , software such as adobe acrobat reader will treat some of the embedded multi - spaced font as separate words . for example , if a line art word ‘ flag ’ in a schematic is embedded with a multi - spaced font , and the schematic is converted to a pdf file , software such as adobe acrobat reader will not be able to find the word ‘ flag .’ instead , the software will read ‘ fl ’ and ‘ ag ’ as two separate words , and the search for the word ‘ flag ’ will be unsuccessful . [ 0030 ] fig1 b illustrates an example of horizontal spacings 106 a - 106 f of a mono - spaced font 104 . in contrast to multi - spaced fonts ( fig1 a ), each character in a mono - spaced font 104 , occupies the same amount of horizontal space or width 106 as other characters when typed , regardless of the actual width of the character itself . in fig1 b , the horizontal space or width 106 of each character is denoted as an imaginary box around each character . as a result , narrow characters like ‘ i ,’ ‘ l ,’ ‘.’ and ‘!’ occupy the same horizontal spaces as wide characters such as ‘ m ’ and ‘ w .’ [ 0031 ] fig1 c illustrates an example of courier font 110 , which is a mono - spaced font . in contrast to multi - spaced fonts , text embedded with mono - spaced fonts , such as the courier font 110 in fig1 c , in a schematic is searchable with software such as adobe acrobat reader . embedded courier font 110 in fig1 c and other embedded mono - spaced fonts may be used by the methods described below in accordance with the present invention . some mono - spaced fonts are difficult to read , especially when the mono - spaced fonts are used in large blocks of text or in compressed schematics . the present inventors experimented with fonts of various heights , widths , spacing and weights to improve on - screen legibility and printed legibility in various schematics . the inventors also tested the fonts &# 39 ; searchability , search accuracy , and compatibility with various types of software , such as icad , printer drivers and adobe distiller . [ 0034 ] fig2 illustrates one embodiment of a mono - spaced , embeddable , searchable font 200 in accordance with the present invention . the searchable font 200 in fig2 was created by the inventors with fontographer , a software developed by macromedia of san francisco , calif . in one embodiment , the searchable font 200 is compatible with various types of software , such as icad , adobe distiller , adobe acrobat reader , microsoft word and microsoft excel . the searchable font 200 in fig2 is mono - spaced to enable accurate searches once the font 200 is embedded in pdf schematics . the letters of the searchable font 200 in fig2 are narrower than the letters of other mono - spaced fonts , such as the courier font 110 of fig1 c . in one embodiment , the aspect ratio ( ratio of height to width ) of the font 200 in fig2 is about 2 to 1 . fonts with other aspect ratios may be used in accordance with the present invention . the spacing between letters of the mono - spaced font 200 ( fig2 ) may also be narrower than the spacing between letters of other mono - spaced fonts , such as the courier font 110 of fig1 c . thus , the searchable font 200 in fig2 uses horizontal space more efficiently than other mono - spaced fonts , such as the courier font 110 of fig1 c . for example , the letters a through z in the searchable font 200 in fig2 occupies less horizontal space than the letters a through z in courier font 110 of fig1 c . the searchable font 200 in fig2 could also advantageously fit into small areas or congested areas of a schematic , unlike other fonts . the searchable font 200 in fig2 is also taller and thicker than other mono - spaced fonts , such as the courier font 110 of fig1 c . in one embodiment , the font 200 is bolded , and the weight of the font 200 is about three times heavier than the standard , non - bolded courier font 110 in fig1 c . thus , the searchable font 200 in fig2 is more legible to users in both on - screen and printed schematics . one embodiment of the searchable font 200 is called ‘ pqschem ’ or ‘ pqschem2 ’ ( product quality schematic font , versions 1 and 2 ), which are shown in fig2 , 7 b , 7 f , 7 g , 7 i , 9 c , 10 a - 10 d and 12 a - 12 c . in general , a user creates a schematic containing line art text with cad software , such as icad . the user directs the cad software to use a searchable font , such as the searchable font 200 in fig2 in the schematic ( described in more detail below with reference to fig6 - 9 e ). the user uses a printer driver ( software ) to generate a postscript file based on the schematic . the user uses a software , such as adobe distiller , to convert the postscript file into a pdf file . when a converted pdf schematic is later opened with a software , such as adobe acrobat reader , the searchable font 200 is searchable to users . the searchable font 200 may be embedded in schematics for devices such as cameras , tvs , computers , dss and webtv products , vcrs , dvd players , stereo systems , receivers , camcorders , audio / visual equipment , printers , copiers and other mechanical or electrical devices . [ 0040 ] fig3 illustrates an exemplifying circuit schematic 300 created by a user using a cad software , such as icad , and converted into a pdf format by adobe distiller . in fig3 a user created the schematic 300 and inserted line art text with the cad software . there are no embedded fonts in the schematic 300 of fig3 . after the schematic is converted to a pdf file , the line art text cannot be accessed and is not searchable with a software such as adobe acrobat reader . fig4 a - 4 c illustrate the exemplifying circuit schematic 300 in fig3 after a user converts the schematics 400 a - 400 c into pdf files with adobe distiller and embeds various fonts in the schematics 400 a - 400 c with software , such as icad , a printer driver and adobe distiller ( described below ). the schematics 400 a - 400 c in fig4 a - 4 c may be opened with adobe acrobat reader . as a result of embedding the fonts and converting the schematics into pdf files , the spacing between the text and the components in fig4 a - 4 c may appear shifted and disorganized . as shown in fig4 a - 4 c , some of the embedded fonts interfere with the circuit components . for example , the text ‘ gnd ’ overlaps pins 48 and 49 in fig4 a - 4 c . the large widths of the embedded fonts in fig4 a - 4 c may also cause the schematics 400 a - 400 c to look disorganized . [ 0042 ] fig5 illustrates the circuit schematic 300 of fig3 with the searchable font 200 of fig2 embedded by software , such as icad , a printer driver and adobe distiller , and converted by adobe distiller into a pdf file . when the schematic 500 is viewed on - screen or printed with adobe acrobat reader , the embedded searchable font appears more organized than the fonts in fig4 a - 4 c . the embedded searchable font in fig5 does not interfere with the circuit components . for example , the text ‘ gnd ’ in fig5 is configured with the searchable font 200 of fig2 and does not overlap pins 48 and 49 . in addition , the embedded searchable font in fig5 is more legible than the fonts in fig4 a - 4 c . a searchable font , such as the font 200 of fig2 may be embedded in any line art text of a computer - generated schematic . the legibility and searchability of an embedded searchable font allows schematics to be distributed via the internet or an ethernet to a very large number of users , such as service personnel , at various locations around the world . [ 0045 ] fig6 illustrates one embodiment of a method for embedding a searchable font , such as the searchable font 200 of fig2 into a previously prepared schematic . in process block 600 of fig6 a user creates a schematic with a cad software and saves the schematic . as described above , the schematic may be created with icad , a software developed by fujitsu . in other embodiments , schematics created with other types of software may also use an embedded searchable font . fig7 a - 7 j illustrate an example of embedding a searchable font , such as the searchable font 200 of fig2 into a prepared schematic . fig7 a - 7 j illustrate a method that uses icad v30l35 - 00 , windows nt and adobe acrobat 3 . 0 or 4 . 0 . in other embodiments , other types of software and systems may be used to embed a searchable font . in process block 602 of fig6 the user modifies the cad software settings to use the searchable font 200 of fig2 for the line art text in the schematic . fig7 a illustrates a screen shot of a directory window 700 with a plurality of files used in a cad software , such as icad . in one embodiment , the user accesses the directory window 700 in fig7 a through a path ‘ c :\ cadpcb \ com \ bin \ plot2 .’ in fig7 a , the user double - clicks on a file icon labeled ‘ fontfile ’ 702 to open a fontfile ‘ notepad ’ window 704 shown in fig7 b . the user changes the font type that is currently listed to the right of the ‘ font ’ field 706 to ‘ pqschem2 ’ 708 , which is one embodiment of the searchable font 200 of fig2 . as mentioned above , courier font 110 ( fig1 c ) or other mono - spaced fonts may be used in accordance with the present invention . the user closes the fontfile ‘ notepad ’ window 704 and double - clicks on a file icon labeled ‘ card ’ 704 in the directory window 700 of fig7 a . the software opens a card notepad window 710 shown in fig7 c . the user inserts the name of a file or schematic 714 after a ‘ draw model =’ field 712 . the user may also specify a page number in the file or schematic 714 with a ‘ vs =’ field 716 in fig7 c where the software will embed the searchable font 708 ( fig7 b ). for example , a data file for a tv may have 15 - 20 boards or pages , where some of the pages have schematics and others do not . if the user wants to embed a searchable font in a schematic on page two , the user enters ‘ p2 ’ 718 next to the ‘ vs =’ field 716 in fig7 c . thereafter , the user may repeat the method describe herein for each page with a schematic . in process block 604 of fig6 the user modifies a ms - dos batch file called ‘ asd . bat ,’ which is part of the icad software . the user double - clicks on a file icon labeled ‘ asd . bat ’ 701 in the c :\ icadpcb \ com \ bin \ plot2 directory window 700 of fig7 a . the user uses an ‘ edit ’ command to open an asd . bat notepad window 720 shown in fig7 d . the user confirms that a ‘ set fonttable =’ field 722 is pointing to fontfile 724 . if ‘ set fonttable =’ field 722 is not pointing to fontfile 724 , the user changes the ‘ set fonttable =’ field 722 to point to fontfile 724 . the user also confirms that a ‘ set card =’ field 726 is pointing to the proper directory , which in this example is ‘ c :\ icadpcb \ com \ bin \ plot2 \ card ’ 728 . in process block 606 of fig6 the user installs or selects a printer driver ( software ) to generate a postscript file based on the computer - generated schematic ( e . g ., schematic 300 in fig3 ) with searchable font ( e . g ., the searchable font 200 in fig2 ) to be embedded . postscript is a sophisticated page description language that is used for high - quality printing on laser printers and other high - resolution printing devices . postscript is capable of describing an entire appearance of a richly - formatted page . [ 0051 ] fig7 e illustrates a ‘ printers ’ window 730 with a plurality of selectable printers . in one embodiment , the user selects a printer driver related to a ‘ hewlett packard design jet printer 1055cm postscript ( ps ) 3 ’ 732 in fig7 e . in other embodiments , the user may select any printer driver that can generate a suitable postscript file . in process block 608 of fig6 the user uses a software , such as adobe type manager ( atm ), to add or install the searchable font 200 of fig2 e . g ., ‘ pqschem . ttf ,’ into a ‘ font library ’ of a user workstation . adobe type manager is a font utility that enables computer users to display postscript type 1 fonts on - screen . postscript font is a scalable outline font that conforms to adobe &# 39 ; s software specifications for type 1 fonts , which use a postscript printer . if atm is unavailable , the user may place the searchable font 200 of fig2 into a workstation font file . fig7 f illustrates a ‘ c :\ winnt \ fonts ’ window 734 in windows nt with a plurality of selectable fonts . the user places the searchable font 200 , labeled as ‘ pqschem2 ’ 736 in fig7 f , into the c :\ winnt \ fonts &# 39 ; window 734 . after a printer driver is selected , the user may open a printer ‘ properties ’ window 740 in fig7 g that shows the properties of the selected printer 732 in fig7 e . in a ‘ device settings ’ file 744 , the user may confirm that the ‘ pqschem2 ’ searchable font 742 is properly installed . the user may open a default document properties window 750 shown in fig7 h that shows the default document properties of the selected printer 732 in fig7 e . in an “ advanced ’ file 752 , the user may confirm that a ‘ truetype font ’ field 754 is set to a ‘ substitute with device font ’ option 756 . the user may open a ‘ forprinter - job options ’ window 760 shown in fig7 i for the printer selected in fig7 e . the user selects a ‘ fonts ’ file 762 and selects ‘ truetype fonts ’ 768 in an ‘ embedding ’ box 764 . the user moves the ‘ pqschem2 ’ searchable font 766 to an ‘ always embed ’ box 770 . in process block 610 of fig6 the user sets a suitable postscript printer driver , such as the hp design jet printer 1055cm ps 3 732 shown in fig7 e , as the default printer to convert the schematic into a postscript file . the user clicks on an ‘ asd . bat ’ file icon 701 in the c :\ icadpcb \ com \ bin \ plot2 file 700 in fig7 a . the software opens a ‘ print to file ’ window 772 as shown in fig7 j . the user may enter any name followed by a ‘. ps ,’ such as ‘ c :\ temp \ test . ps ,’ to convert the icad schematic to a postscript file . in a block 612 of fig6 the user locates the ‘. ps ’ file according to the location specified by the user in block 612 ( e . g ., c drive , ‘ temp ’ directory , file name ‘ test . ps ’) and clicks on the ‘. ps ’ file . adobe distiller opens and converts the postscript ‘. ps ’ file into a pdf file with embedded ‘ pqschem2 ’ searchable font . after a pdf file is created for the schematic with ‘ pqschem2 ’ searchable font , the user who created the file or other users may print the pdf file or view the pdf file on - screen . in other embodiments , the process blocks 600 - 612 in fig6 may be performed in an order that is different than the order shown in fig6 . fig8 a - 8 d illustrate exemplifying configurable settings for a printer driver to configure a . ps file with embedded searchable font 200 ( fig2 ) for printing . fig8 a illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ general ’ file 800 of the ‘ forprinter - job options ’ window 760 shown in fig7 i . in fig8 a , the user may set a ‘ compatibility ’ box 802 to ‘ acrobat 3 . 0 ’ or ‘ 4 . 0 .’ the user may check an ‘ optimize pdf ’ box 804 . the user may set a ‘ resolution ’ box 806 to ‘ 600 .’ the user may set a ‘ binding ’ box 808 to ‘ left .’ [ 0059 ] fig8 b illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ compression ’ file 810 of the ‘ forprinter - job options ’ window 760 shown in fig7 i . in fig8 b , the user may not desire any compression for printed schematics in order to preserve a high resolution . [ 0060 ] fig8 c illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ color ’ file 812 of the ‘ forprinter - job options ’ window 760 shown in fig7 i . in fig8 c , the user may check a ‘ leave color unchanged ’ box 814 . [ 0061 ] fig8 d illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in an ‘ advanced ’ file 816 of the ‘ forprinter - job options ’ window 760 shown in fig7 i . in fig8 d , the user may check an ‘ allow postscript file to override job options ’ box 818 and a ‘ preserve level 2 copypage semantics ’ box 820 . the user may set a ‘ width ’ box 822 to ‘ 17 . 0 ,’ a ‘ height ’ box 824 to ‘ 24 . 0 ’ and ‘ units ’ box 826 to ‘ inches .’ fig9 a - 9 e illustrate exemplifying configurable settings for a printer driver to configure a . ps file with embedded searchable font 200 ( fig2 ) for on - screen viewing . the . ps file may be transmitted via the internet or an ethernet to a plurality of users at various locations . [ 0063 ] fig9 a illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ general ’ file 900 of a ‘ servicemanual - job options ’ window 902 . in fig9 a , the user may set a ‘ compatibility ’ box 904 to ‘ acrobat 3 . 0 ’ or ‘ 4 . 0 .’ the user may check an ‘ optimize pdf ’ box 906 . the user may set a ‘ resolution ’ box 908 to ‘ 300 .’ the user may set a ‘ binding ’ box 912 to ‘ left .’ [ 0064 ] fig9 b illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ compression ’ file 914 of the ‘ servicemanual - job options ’ window 902 . in fig9 b , the user may check a ‘ color bitmap images compression ’ box 916 and a ‘ grayscale bitmap images compression ’ box 922 . the user may select ‘ jpeg ’ as the type of compression in boxes 918 , 924 and specify ‘ medium ’ in ‘ quality ’ boxes 920 , 926 . the user may also check a ‘ compress text and line art ’ box 928 . [ 0065 ] fig9 c illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ fonts ’ file 930 of the ‘ servicemanual - job options ’ window 902 . in fig9 c , the user may check an ‘ embed all fonts ’ box 932 and a ‘ subset all embedded fonts below ’ box 934 . the user may select ‘ 100 %’ in a box 936 and a ‘ warn and continue ’ option in a ‘ when embedding fails ’ box 938 . the user may select ‘ base 14 fonts ’ in an ‘ embedding ’ box 940 and a plurality of font types in an ‘ always embed ’ box 942 . [ 0066 ] fig9 d illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in a ‘ color ’ file 950 of the ‘ servicemanual - job options ’ window 902 . in fig9 d , the user may check a ‘ leave color unchanged ’ box 952 . [ 0067 ] fig9 e illustrates a plurality of configurable parameters in an ‘ advanced ’ file 960 of the ‘ servicemanual - job options ’ window 902 . in fig9 e , the user may check an ‘ allow postscript file to override job options ’ box 962 and a ‘ preserve level 2 copypage semantics ’ box 964 . the user may set a ‘ width ’ box 966 to ‘ 8 . 5 ,’ a ‘ height ’ box 968 to ‘ 11 . 0 ’ and a ‘ units ’ box 970 to ‘ inches .’ fig1 a - 10 d illustrate exemplifying pdf schematics that may be included in a document , such as a service manual for a device . the schematics in fig1 a - 10 d may be on the same page or on different pages in a software such as adobe acrobat reader 3 . 0 or 4 . 0 . fig1 a illustrates an exemplifying board schematic diagram 1000 for a device . fig1 b illustrates an exemplifying printed wiring board ( pwb ) schematic 1010 related to the board schematic diagram 1000 of fig1 a . fig1 c illustrates an exemplifying schematic 1020 of a power switch related to the board schematic diagram 1000 of fig1 a . fig1 d illustrates another exemplifying schematic 1030 of the switch in fig1 c . fig1 a - 11 b illustrate exemplifying lists of parts in fig1 a - 10 d . the schematics in fig1 a - 10 d and the parts lists in fig1 a - 11 b may be on separate pages spread throughout a service manual . users , such as service technicians , may spend a lot of time trying to manually find particular components and cross - reference the components between schematics ( fig1 a - 10 d ) and parts lists ( fig1 a - 11 b ) on a computer or with hard copy manuals . moreover , users may have to repeatedly zoom in and zoom out of schematics to see particular components and how they function with other components . with a searchable font according to the present invention , users can quickly cross - reference text in one schematic on a computer , such as a desktop , a lap top , a kiosk or a pda , with text in other schematics . this cross - referencing feature is particularly useful if there are several schematics spread throughout a document , and each schematic has a large number of parts or circuit components . fig1 a - 12 c illustrate an example of using a searchable font in the pdf schematics of fig1 a - 10 d . fig1 a is a composite view of the schematics of fig1 a - 10 d . if a user wants to find a particular component in the schematics of fig1 a - 10 d , the user presses & lt ; ctrl & gt ;& lt ; f & gt ; on a keyboard or clicks on a find icon 1204 ( shaped as binoculars ) near the top of the screen in adobe acrobat reader to open a ‘ find ’ box 1200 ( fig1 a ). the user enters the name of a component , such as a resistor ‘ r1783 ,’ in the search field 1202 and clicks on the ‘ find ’ button 1206 or presses & lt ; enter & gt ;. if the schematics 1000 , 1010 , 1020 , 1030 in fig1 a - 10 d are configured with a searchable font as described above , acrobat reader automatically finds and highlights the first occurrence of resistor ‘ r1783 ’ in fig1 a , which is shown as ‘ r1783 ’ 1004 in fig1 b . the user may click on a zoom icon 1210 ( shaped as a magnifying glass ) near the top of the screen in acrobat reader and click on the ‘ r1783 ’ 1004 to zoom in on ‘ r1783 ’ 1004 , as shown in fig1 b . if the user presses & lt ; ctrl & gt ;& lt ; f & gt ; on a keyboard or clicks on the find icon 1204 ( fig1 b ) again , the ‘ find ’ box 1200 opens again with a ‘ find again ’ button 1208 . if the user clicks on the ‘ find again ’ button 1208 , acrobat reader automatically finds the next occurrence of ‘ r1783 ,’ which is shown as ‘ r1783 ’ 1002 in fig1 a and 12c . if the user presses & lt ; ctrl & gt ;& lt ; f & gt ; on a keyboard or clicks on the find icon 1204 ( fig1 c ) again , the ‘ find ’ box 1200 opens again with a ‘ find again ’ button 1208 . if the user clicks on the ‘ find again ’ button 1208 , acrobat reader automatically finds the next occurrence of ‘ r1783 ,’ which is shown as ‘ r1783 ’ 1100 in fig1 a . this assumes that the lists in fig1 a - 11 b are in the same pdf document as the schematics 1000 , 1010 , 1020 , 1030 in fig1 a - 10 d and that the lists in fig1 a - 11 b are configured with a searchable font as described above . thus , the user can quickly and automatically ‘ jump ’ from one schematic 1010 ( fig1 b and 12b ) to another schematic 1000 ( fig1 a and 12c ) to a parts list in fig1 a - 11 b without manually searching for a component . in addition , engineers can easily change , update and distribute schematics with searchable font , such as engineering drawings , to manufacturers and service personnel . for example , engineers often create a ‘ master ’ schematic that covers a plurality of product models , some of which will be marketed and some will not be marketed . once the engineers know which product model ( s ) will be marketed , the engineers can use the searchable font 200 to quickly find components in the master schematic to change or delete to match the specifications of product model ( s ) to be marketed . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are merely meant to be illustrative and not limiting . various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . the appended claims encompass such changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention .

6Physics

the following merely illustrates the principles of the invention . it will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which , although not explicitly described or shown herein , embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope . furthermore , all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only 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 . moreover , all statements herein reciting principles , aspects , and embodiments of the invention , as well as specific examples thereof , are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof . additionally , it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future , i . e ., any elements developed that perform the same function , regardless of structure . thus , for example , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the invention . similarly , it will be appreciated that any flow charts , flow diagrams , state transition diagrams , pseudocode , and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor , whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown . the functions of the various elements shown in the figs ., including functional blocks labeled as “ processors ” may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software . when provided by a processor , the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor , by a single shared processor , or by a plurality of individual processors , some of which may be shared . moreover , explicit use of the term “ processor ” or “ controller ” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software , and may implicitly include , without limitation , digital signal processor ( dsp ) hardware , read - only memory ( rom ) for storing software , random access memory ( ram ), and non - volatile storage . other hardware , conventional and / or custom , may also be included . similarly , any switches shown in the figs . are conceptual only . their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic , through dedicated logic , through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic , or even manually , the particular technique being selectable by the implementor as more specifically understood from the context . in the claims hereof any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including , for example , a ) a combination of circuit elements which performs that function or b ) software in any form , including , therefore , firmware , microcode or the like , combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function . the invention as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for . applicant thus regards any means which can provide those functionalities as equivalent as those shown herein . an impact between two bodies for purposes of drop testing is said to occur when the bodies are in contact at at least a point with relative velocity toward each other along the normal to the tangent plane at the point of contact . fig1 shows an exemplary drop - table - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig1 are a ) product to be drop tested 101 , b ) suspension 103 , c ) drop table 105 , d ) release 107 , e ) release activator 109 , f ) guiding rods 111 , g ) groove 113 , h ) sensor 115 , i ) wireless transmitter 117 , j ) wireless control ( wc ) 119 , k ) pulse shaper 121 , l ) surface material 123 , and m ) suspension support 125 product 101 is the product undergoing drop testing . although the term product is used herein , the use of such term is primarily for the purpose of pedagogical motivation and is not meant as a limitation . any object desired to be drop tested may be substituted for product 101 , and , as such , the more general term object may be used in the claims appended hereto . suspension 103 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 101 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the upper surface of drop table 105 , i . e ., the surface of drop table 105 , which may be covered by surface material 123 . items which may be used to implement suspension 103 include one or more strings or wires of any material , one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only a single string is shown in fig1 suspension 103 may be made up of multiple strings , wires , clamps and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 101 . drop table 105 is a conventional type of drop table . thus , it is a large heavy block with guide holes passing through it so that the motion of drop table 105 can be constrained by guiding rods 111 . the upper surface of drop table 105 may have on it a series of holes so that objects , such as suspension support 125 , may be inserted therein and secured to drop table 105 . the holes may be arranged in a grid , the spacing of which may be regular or irregular . release 107 is any device which is capable of holding and then releasing suspension 103 so that at least product 101 and at least a portion of suspension 103 , are free to move independent of any motion of suspension support 125 . release 107 may be electronically activated devices , such as , a jaw , a gripper , a hook , a rocker arm , a magnetic clamp , an unraveling spool , a solenoid , a heatable glue , an explosive mechanism , a blade , a pair scissors , or the like . release activator 109 is any control mechanism for activating release 107 . for example , it may be a wire or a heater . guiding rods 111 guide the motion of drop table 105 to insure that drop table 105 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of drop table 105 is repeatable . as noted , guiding rods 111 pass through the guide holes of drop table 105 . guiding rods 111 need not be round but can have any arbitrary cross section . typically some form of friction reduction is used between guiding rods 111 and the guide holes of drop table 105 . this friction reduction may be achieved by employing bearings , lubrication , or the like . such guiding rods and drop tables with holes are well known in the art . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 groove 113 is located within one of guiding rods 111 . within groove 113 is located adjustable sensor 115 . sensor 115 may be positioned at various heights within groove 113 , as desired by the person conducting the drop tests . sensor 115 generates a signal that indicates that drop table 105 , or product 101 , is passing a specified point in space . sensor 115 may be any type of sensor , such as a ) an optical sensor , b ) a mechanical sensor , c ) an electrical sensor , d ) a magnetic sensor , e ) a chemical sensor , or f ) the like . sensor 115 may operate in cooperation with indicators that are on , or within , drop table 105 . although shown in fig1 as being located with groove 113 , sensor 115 may be positioned anywhere required to detect that drop table 105 is passing the specified point in space . thus , the location of sensor 115 is at the discretion of the implementor , subject to the capabilities of sensor 115 . sensor 115 may also be used to measure the velocity , e . g ., at impact , of drop table 105 . the signal generated by sensor 115 is communicated , typically , but not necessarily , indirectly to release 107 . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 such communication is achieved by employing wireless transmitter 117 , which transmits a wireless signal in response to receiving a signal from sensor 115 . wireless control ( wc ) 119 receives and detects the wireless signal from transmitter 117 , and in response thereto it commands release activator 109 to activate release 107 . although any form of wireless communication may be employed , typically optical or electromagnetic forms are employed . note that due to the placement of sensor 115 it may be desirable to delay activation of release 107 for a period of time after generation of the signal by sensor 115 . such a delay may be incorporated in , or between , any of the elements along the path from and including sensor 115 to release 107 . although wireless signaling has been employed in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 it is possible to employ wired forms of signaling in addition to such wireless forms , or in lieu thereof . pulse shaper 121 may be a conventional pulse shaper which controls the nature of the impact experienced by drop table 105 , and ultimately product 101 . for effective drop testing , by which is meant product 101 experiences forces in a manner that corresponds to the product being actually dropped , the duration of the pulse generated by the pulse shaper should be much shorter than the shock pulse generated between product 101 and drop table 105 . see for example r . e . newton , theory of shock isolation in shock & amp ; vibration handbook , chapter 31 , mcgraw - hill , new york , 1988 . additionally , preferably , pulse shaper 121 should provide a dead impact , so that substantially immediately upon impact drop table 105 comes to a complete rest . otherwise the additional velocity due to the drop table rebound needs to be accounted for , as will be recognized by those skilled in the art . surface material 123 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product . for example , surface material 123 may be 1 ) a layer of hard wood flooring , 2 ) concrete , 3 ) carpeting over wood flooring , 4 ) carpeting over concrete , 5 ) vegetation covered ground , 6 ) packed earth , 7 ) ceramic tile , floor tile , 8 ) linoleum , 9 ) blacktop , or 10 ) any other floor material . note that in conventional drop tests the effect of the flooring is accounted for by the pulse shaper employed . however , because the pulse shaper is only effective for the initial impact , while a product when it is actually dropped is likely to undergo multiple impacts , and such multiple impacts are likely to be experienced by a product being dropped tested using the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 the single pulse shaper is insufficient to provide simulation of the surface . therefore , instead of providing multiple pulse shapers at each location of impact of product 101 , which may be done if desired , it is easier to cover drop table 101 with the actual surface material . in operation , product 101 is suspended at a desired angle above surface material 123 by suspension 103 , with one end or point of product 101 resting on surface material 123 . drop table 105 is then raised to the desired dropping height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , e . g ., in the conventional manner which is from the bottom of drop table 105 to the top pulse shaper 121 . drop table 105 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 111 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height , which is typically set to be a short distance prior to impact , sensor 115 detects the presence of drop table 105 and signals release activator 109 , e . g ., via wireless transmitter 117 and wireless control ( wc ) 119 , to cause release 107 to release suspension 103 . advantageously , doing so permits product 101 to behave essentially as a free dropping body that is dropping at the same rate as drop table 105 for the rest of the fall . upon hitting pulse shaper 121 drop table 105 substantially immediately comes to a halt . this results in an impact between the portion of product 101 which is resting on surface material 123 and surface material 123 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 101 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 101 had product 101 been dropped onto surface material 123 and impacted thereon at the desired angle . because product 101 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 123 . fig2 shows an exemplary mechanical only drop - table - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig2 are a ) product to be drop tested 201 , b ) suspension 203 , c ) drop table 205 , d ) release 207 , e ) release activator 209 , f ) guiding rods 211 g ) recess 233 , h ) peg 235 , i ) pivot 237 , j ) reciprocating sensor arm 239 , k ) pulse shaper - 221 , l ) surface material 223 , and m ) suspension support 225 . product 201 is the product undergoing drop testing . drop table 205 is a conventional type of drop table as described above in connection with drop table 105 . pulse shaper 221 may be a conventional pulse shaper and is substantially the same as pulse shaper 121 described in fig1 . surface material 223 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product . suspension 203 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 201 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the upper surface of drop table 205 . i . e ., the surface of drop table 205 , which may be covered by surface material 223 . items which may be used to implement suspension 203 include one or more strings or wires of any material . although only a single string is shown in fig2 suspension 203 may be made up of multiple strings , wires , clamps and the like . in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 201 . at the end of suspension 203 that is not attached to product 201 there is a loose hook or loop which goes around release 207 and can easily slip off of release 207 when release 207 points downward . release 207 is one end of a rocker arm , the other end of which is release activator 209 . there may be multiple fingers or teeth to the rocker arm end at which is release 207 , each of which may act as to release one or more strings which are part of suspension 203 . release activator 209 is the end of the rocker arm opposite to release 207 similar to guiding rods 111 of fig1 guiding rods 211 guide the motion of drop table 205 to insure that drop table 205 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of drop table 205 is repeatable . recess 233 is aligned with a hole through drop table 205 into which is fit reciprocating arm 239 . the hole is somewhat narrower on the bottom to prevent reciprocating arm 239 from sliding all the way through and out of drop table 205 . into recess 233 is placed a peg , which is narrow enough to fit through the narrow end of the hole in which is resting reciprocating arm 239 and so it can engage reciprocating arm 239 when drop table 205 is low enough . the height of the peg is determinable by the person conducting the drop tests . in an alternative arrangement , a stop can be used to prevent reciprocating arm 239 from falling out of the hole . in operation , product 201 is suspended at a desired angle above surface material 223 by suspension 203 , with one end of product 201 resting on surface material 223 . drop table 205 is then raised to the desired drop height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , e . g ., in the conventional manner which is from the bottom of drop table 205 to the top pulse shaper 221 . drop table 205 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 211 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height , which is determined by the height of peg 235 and how far within drop table 205 reciprocating arm 239 is resting , peg 235 will engage and begin to push upwards reciprocating arm 239 . in turn , reciprocating arm 239 will push upward release activator 209 , which causes release 207 to begin to move downward , as the rocker arm which is made up of release activator 209 and release 207 rotates around pivot 237 . as drop table 205 continues to fall , the upward motion of reciprocating arm 239 and release activator 207 continues , as does the downward movement of release 207 . eventually , the hook on the end of suspension 203 falls off releasing suspension 203 . advantageously , thereafter product 201 may behave essentially as a free dropping body that is dropping at the same rate as drop table 205 for the rest of the fall . upon hitting pulse shaper 221 drop table 205 substantially immediately comes to a halt . this results in an impact between the portion of product 201 which is resting on surface material 223 and surface material 223 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 201 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 201 had it been dropped onto surface material 223 and impact with the desired angle . because product 201 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 223 . fig3 shows another exemplary drop - table - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig3 are a ) product to be drop tested 301 , b ) suspension 303 , c ) drop table 305 , d ) release 307 , e ) release activator 309 , t ) guiding rods 311 , g ) groove 313 , h ) sensor 315 , i ) wireless transmitter 317 , j ) wireless control ( wc ) 319 , k ) pulse shaper 321 , l ) surface material 323 , and m ) suspension support 325 product 301 is the product undergoing drop testing . drop table 305 is a conventional type of drop table as described above in connection with drop table 105 . pulse shaper 321 may be a conventional pulse shaper and is substantially the same as pulse shaper 121 described in fig1 . surface material 323 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product . suspension 303 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 301 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the upper surface of drop table 305 , i . e ., the surface of drop table 305 , which may be covered by surface material 323 . items which may be used to implement suspension 303 include one or more strings or wires of any material , one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only a single string is shown in fig3 suspension 303 may be made up of multiple strings , wires , and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 301 . release 307 is a quick release lever which is capable of holding and then releasing suspension 303 so that at least product 301 and at least a portion of suspension 303 , are free to move independent of any motion of suspension support 325 . release 307 operates by sliding down within slot 309 at a faster rate than drop table 305 is falling . this may be achieved by a motorized drive within slot 309 which is activated in response to a command initiated by sensor 315 , so that slot 309 functions as a release activator . by falling faster than drop table 305 suspension 303 becomes slack , allowing product 301 to behave as if it were naturally dropped . moreover , advantageously , release 307 can be raised automatically . doing so retensions suspension 303 and prepares product 301 for another test . thus , product 301 may be repeatably and automatically tested multiple times . release 307 may include , in addition to or in lieu of motorized slot 309 , automatically unravelable spool 341 . to release , or further release . product 301 to move naturally , spool 341 may be made so that it automatically unravels in response to a command initiated by sensor 315 . such unraveling releases to the tension on suspension 303 . advantageously , spool 341 may automatically rewind around itself suspension 303 , so that product 301 may be repositioned for another drop test . thus , product 301 may be repeatably and automatically tested multiple times . note that just as multiple wires may be used for suspending product 301 , multiple releases 307 may be used so that product 301 may be released to achieve the desired drop test . thus , there may be more than one motorized slots , spools , or combinations thereof employed for any particular drop test . similar to guiding rods 111 of fig1 guiding rods 311 guide the motion of drop table 305 to insure that drop table 305 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of drop table 305 is repeatable . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig3 groove 313 is located within one of guiding rods 311 . within groove 313 is located adjustable sensor 315 . sensor 315 may be positioned at various heights within groove 313 , as desired by the person conducting the drop tests . sensor 315 operates in the same manner as sensor 115 of fig1 to generate a signal that indicates that drop table 305 , or product 301 , is passing a specified point in space . as with sensor 115 , sensor 315 need not be located within groove 313 . the signal generated by sensor 315 is communicated , typically , but not necessarily , indirectly to release 307 , in a manner similar to that described in fig1 e . g ., by employing wireless transmitter 317 , which transmits a wireless signal in response to receiving a signal from sensor 315 . wireless control ( wc ) 319 receives and detects the wireless signal from transmitter 317 , and in response thereto it commands release activator 309 to activate release 307 . as noted above , it may be desirable to delay activation of release 307 for a period of time after generation of the signal by sensor 315 . drop table 305 is a conventional type of drop table as described above in connection with drop table 105 . pulse shaper 321 may be a conventional pulse shaper and is substantially the same as pulse shaper 121 described in fig1 . surface material 323 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product . in operation , product 301 is suspended at a desired angle above surface material 323 by suspension 303 , with one end of product 301 resting on surface material 323 . drop table 305 is then raised to the desired drop height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , e . g ., in the conventional manner which is from the bottom of drop table 305 to the top pulse shaper 321 . drop table 305 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 311 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height . which is typically set to be a short distance prior to impact , sensor 315 detects the presence of drop table 305 and signals release activator 309 , e . g ., via wireless transmitter 317 and wireless control ( wc ) 319 , to cause release 307 to release suspension 303 . this is achieved by having release 307 slide down within slot 309 at a faster rate than drop table 305 is falling and / or having automatically unravelable spool 341 unravel . advantageously , doing so permits product 301 to behave essentially as a free dropping body that is dropping at the same rate as drop table 305 for the rest of the fall . upon hitting pulse shaper 321 drop table 305 substantially immediately comes to a halt . this results in an impact between the portion of product 301 which is resting on surface material 323 and surface material 323 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 301 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 301 had it been dropped onto surface material 323 and impacted thereon at the desired angle . because product 301 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 323 . after a time , product 301 will come to a rest on drop table 305 . at such a time , e . g ., which may be specified by a timer circuit , release 307 may then be automatically raised within slot 309 and / or unravelable spool 341 may be rewound so as to take up slack in suspension 303 . also , drop table 305 may be automatically raised to a height from which a next drop test is to be performed . thus , advantageously , the entire system is reset to perform another drop test on product 301 . fig4 shows an exemplary suspension - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig4 are a ) product to be drop tested 401 b ) suspension 403 , c ) suspension platform 405 , d ) release 407 , e ) release activators 409 , f ) guiding rods 411 , g ) groove 413 , h ) sensor 415 , i ) wireless transmitter 417 , j ) wireless control ( wc ) 419 , k ) adjustable stops 421 , and l ) surface material 423 . product 401 is the product undergoing drop testing . suspension 403 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 401 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the lower surface of suspension platform 405 , i . e ., at an angle fixed with respect to surface material 423 . items which may be used to implement suspension 403 include one or more strings or wires of any material , one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only two strings are shown in fig4 suspension 403 may be made up of additional strings , wires , clamps and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 401 . suspension 403 may also be made of rigid materials , e . g ., electromagnetic rods . suspension platform 405 is a platform , such as a block , with guide holes passing through it so that the motion of suspension platform 405 can be constrained by guiding rods 411 . the lower surface of suspension platform 405 may have on it a series of holes so that various ones of releases 407 may be contained therein and secured thereby to suspension platform 405 . the holes may be arranged in a grid , the spacing of which may be regular or irregular . release 407 is any device which is capable of holding and then releasing suspension 403 so that at least product 401 , and possibly a portion of suspension 403 , are free to move independent of any motion of suspension platform 405 . release 407 may be electronically activated devices , such as , a jaw , a gripper , a hook , a rocker arm , a magnetic clamp , an unraveling spool , a solenoid , a heatable glue , an explosive mechanism , a blade , a pair scissors , or the like . release activator 409 is any control mechanism for activating release 407 . for example , it may be a wire or a heater . as noted , guiding rods 411 guide the motion of suspension platform 405 to insure that suspension platform 405 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of suspension platform 405 is repeatable . guiding rods 411 pass through the guide holes of suspension platform 405 . guiding rods 411 need not be round but can have any arbitrary cross section . typically some form of friction reduction is used between guiding rods 411 and the guide holes of suspension platform 405 . this friction reduction may be achieved by employing bearings , lubrication , or the like . such guiding rods and suspension platforms with holes are well known in the art . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig4 groove 413 is located within one of guiding rods 411 . within groove 413 is located adjustable sensor 415 . sensor 415 may be positioned at various heights within groove 413 , as desired by the person conducting the drop tests . sensor 415 generates a signal that indicates that suspension platform 405 , or product 401 , is passing a specified point in space . sensor 415 may be any type of sensor , such as a ) an optical sensor , b ) a mechanical sensor , c ) an electrical sensor , d ) a magnetic sensor , e ) a chemical sensor , or t ) the like . sensor 415 may operate in cooperation with indicators that are on , or within , suspension platform 405 . although shown in fig4 as being located with groove 413 , sensor 415 may be positioned anywhere required to detect that suspension platform 405 is passing the specified point in space . thus , the location of sensor 415 is at the discretion of the implementor , subject to the capabilities of sensor 415 . the signal generated by sensor 415 is communicated , typically , but not necessarily , indirectly to release 407 . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig4 such communication is achieved by employing wireless transmitter 417 , which transmits a wireless signal in response to receiving a signal from sensor 415 . wireless control ( wc ) 419 receives and detects the wireless signal from transmitter 417 , and in response thereto it commands release activator 409 to activate release 407 . although any form of wireless communication may be employed , typically optical or electromagnetic forms are employed . note that due to the placement of sensor 415 it may be desirable to delay activation of release 407 for a period of time after generation of the signal by sensor 415 . such a delay may be incorporated in , or between , any of the elements along the path from and including sensor 415 to release 407 . although wireless signaling has been employed in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig4 it is possible to employ wired forms of signaling in addition to such wireless forms , or in lieu thereof . adjustable stops 421 are employed to arrest the motion of suspension platform 405 after release 403 has been activated to release product 401 , thereby preventing suspension platform 405 from hitting surface material 423 , or from even entering the space within which product 401 is likely to move in after its impact with surface material 423 . additionally , preferably , adjustable stops 421 should provide a dead impact , so that substantially immediately upon impact suspension platform 405 comes to a complete rest . surface material 423 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product such as described hereinabove . in operation , product 401 is suspended above surface material 423 by suspension 403 and is positioned at an angle that it is desired that product 401 will have upon initial impact with surface material 423 . suspension platform 405 is then raised to the desired drop height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , such as the distance from the lowest point of suspend product 401 to surface material 423 . suspension platform 405 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 411 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height sensor 415 detects the presence of suspension platform 405 , or possibly even the presence of product 401 , and signals release activator 409 , e . g ., via wireless transmitter 417 and wireless control ( wc ) 419 , to cause release 407 to release suspension 403 . advantageously , doing so permits product 401 to become a free dropping body for the rest of the fall . note that initially product 401 is dropping at the same rate as suspension platform 405 , and that because of the laws of mechanics product 401 will continue to fall and to maintain the angle at which is was suspended for the drop test . upon hitting adjustable stops 421 suspension platform 405 substantially immediately comes to a halt . however , product 401 continues to fall in accordance with the principles of mechanics , and so , in accordance with an aspect of the invention , product 401 maintains its relative angle with respect to surface material 423 . eventually product 401 impacts on surface material 423 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 401 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 401 had it been dropped onto surface material 423 and impacted thereon at the desired angle . furthermore , because product 401 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 423 . fig5 shows an exemplary mechanical only suspension - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig5 are a ) product to be drop tested 501 , b ) suspension 503 , c ) suspension platform 505 , d ) release 507 , e ) release activator 509 , f ) guiding rods 511 , g ) recesses 533 , h ) pegs 535 , i ) pivots 537 , j ) reciprocating sensor arms 539 , k ) adjustable stops 521 , and l ) surface material 523 . product 501 is the product undergoing drop testing . suspension platform 505 is a platform , such as a suspension platform 405 described more thoroughly in connection with fig4 . similar to guiding rods 111 of fig1 , guiding rods 511 guide the motion of suspension platform 505 to insure that suspension platform 505 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of suspension platform 505 is repeatable . suspension 503 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 501 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the lower surface of suspension platform 505 , i . e ., at an angle fixed with respect to surface material 523 . items which may be used to implement suspension 503 include one or more strings or wires of any material , one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only two strings are shown in fig5 suspension 503 may be made up of additional strings , wires . clamps and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 501 . at the end of each suspender of suspension 503 that is not attached to product 501 there is a loose hook or loop which goes around a portion of release 507 and can easily slip off of that portion of release 507 when it is pointed downward . each portion of release 507 is one end of a rocker arm , the other end of the rocker arm being a portion of release activator 509 . there may be multiple fingers or teeth to each rocker arm end that is part of release 507 , and each tooth or finger may act to release one or more strings which are part of suspension 503 . each of recesses 533 is aligned with a corresponding one of reciprocating arms 539 . each of reciprocating arms 539 passes through a hole in suspension platform 505 . reciprocating arms 539 are arranged so that they do not fall out the bottom of their respective holes . this may be achieved by employing a stop , such as stops 555 , which is through , or around , each of reciprocating arms 539 . another arrangement contours reciprocating arms 539 with respect to the holes in which they are placed , e . g ., the holes and reciprocating arms 539 are somewhat narrower near the bottom of suspension platform 505 . into each of recesses 533 is placed one of pegs 535 , and each peg can engage reciprocating arm 539 when suspension platform 505 is low enough . the height of the peg is determinable by the person conducting the drop tests . also note that the extension of reciprocating arms 539 below suspension platform 505 need not be uniform . furthermore , if reciprocating arms 539 are long enough , recesses 533 and pegs 535 may be dispensed with . adjustable stops 521 are employed to arrest the motion of suspension platform 505 after release 503 has been activated to release product 501 and to prevent suspension platform 505 from hitting surface material 523 , or from even entering the space within which product 501 is likely to move in after its impact with surface material 523 . additionally , preferably , adjustable stops 521 should provide a dead impact , so that substantially immediately upon impact suspension platform 505 comes to a complete rest . surface material 523 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product such as described hereinabove . in operation , product 501 is suspended at a desired angle above surface material 523 by suspension 503 . suspension platform 505 is then raised to the desired drop height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , such as the distance from the lowest point of suspend product 501 to surface material 523 . suspension platform 505 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 511 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height , which is determined by the height of pegs 535 and how far each of reciprocating arms 539 extends below the bottom of suspension platform 505 , pegs 535 will engage and begin to push upwards reciprocating arms 539 . in turn , reciprocating arms 539 will push upward each portion of release activator 509 , which causes each portion of release 507 to begin to move downward , as each rocker arm which is made up of a portion of release activator 509 and a portion of release 507 rotates around its respective pivot 537 . as suspension platform 505 continues to fall , the upward motion of each reciprocating arm 539 and each portion of release activator 507 continues , as does the downward movement of each portion of release 507 . eventually , each hook on the end of each portion of suspension 503 falls off , releasing suspension 503 . advantageously , thereafter product 501 may behave essentially as a free dropping body that is dropping at the same rate as suspension platform 505 for the rest of the fall . note that initially product 501 is dropping at the same rate as suspension platform 505 , and that because of the laws of mechanics product 501 will continue to fall and to maintain the angle at which is was suspended for the drop test . upon hitting adjustable stops 521 suspension platform 505 substantially immediately comes to a halt . however , product 501 continues to fall . eventually product 501 impacts on surface material 523 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 501 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 501 had it been dropped onto surface material 523 and impacted thereon at the desired angle . furthermore , because product 501 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 523 . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , suspension 503 could pass through holes in suspension platform 505 , and release 507 and release activator 509 could be located on top of suspension platform 505 , and be arranged in a manner similar to that shown in fig2 . fig6 shows another exemplary suspension - type embodiment of the invention . shown in fig6 are a ) product to be drop tested , 601 , b ) suspension 603 , c ) suspension platform 605 , d ) release 607 , e ) release activator 609 , f ) guiding rods 611 , g ) groove 613 , h ) sensor 615 , i ) wireless transmitter 617 , j ) wireless control ( wc ) 619 , k ) adjustable stops 621 , l ) surface material 623 , and m ) suspension support 625 product 601 is the product undergoing drop testing . suspension platform 605 is a platform , such as a suspension platform 405 described more thoroughly in connection with fig4 . similar to guiding rods 111 of fig1 guiding rods 611 guide the motion of suspension platform 605 to insure that suspension platform 605 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of suspension platform 605 is repeatable . surface material 623 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product such as described hereinabove . suspension 603 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 601 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the lower surface of suspension platform 605 , i . e ., at an angle fixed with respect to surface material 623 . items which may be used to implement suspension 603 include one or more strings or wires of any material . one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only a single string is shown in fig6 suspension 603 may be made up of multiple strings , wires , and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 601 . each portion of release 607 may be a quick release lever which is capable of holding and then releasing a portion of suspension 603 so that at least product 601 and at least a portion of suspension 603 , are free to move independent of any motion of suspension support 625 . each portion of release 607 operates by sliding down within slot 609 at a faster rate than suspension platform 605 is falling . this may be achieved by a motorized drive within each slot 609 each of which is activated in response to a command initiated by sensor 615 , so that each slot 609 functions as a release activator . by falling faster than suspension platform 605 suspension 603 becomes slack , allowing product 601 to behave as if it were naturally dropped . moreover , advantageously , release 607 can be raised automatically . doing so retensions suspension 603 and prepares product 601 for another test . thus , product 601 may be repeatably and automatically tested multiple times . any portion of release 607 may include , in addition to or in lieu of motorized slot 609 , automatically unravelable spool 641 . to release , or further release , product 601 to move naturally , spool 641 may be made so that it automatically unravels in response to a command initiated by sensor 615 . such unraveling releases the tension on suspension 603 . advantageously , spool 601 may automatically rewind around itself suspension 603 , so that product 601 may be repositioned for another drop test . thus , product 601 may be repeatably and automatically tested multiple times . note that just as more than two wires may be used for suspending product 601 , release 607 may include more than two portions , so that product 601 may be positioned and then released to achieve the desired drop test . further note that although the apparatus for suspending and releasing product 601 is shown below suspension platform 505 , such apparatus could be located above suspension platform 505 with suspension 503 passing through appropriate holes in suspension platform 505 . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig6 groove 613 is located within one of guiding rods 611 . within groove 613 is located adjustable sensor 615 . sensor 615 may be positioned at various heights within groove 613 , as desired by the person conducting the drop tests . sensor 615 operates in the same manner as sensor 115 of fig1 to generate a signal that indicates that suspension platform 605 , or product 601 , is passing a specified point in space . the signal generated by sensor 615 is communicated , typically , but not necessarily , indirectly to release 607 , in a manner similar to that described in fig1 e . g ., by employing wireless transmitter 617 , which transmits a wireless signal in response to receiving a signal from sensor 615 . wireless control ( wc ) 619 receives and detects the wireless signal from transmitter 617 . and in response thereto it commands release activator 609 to activate release 607 . as noted above , it may be desirable to delay activation of release 607 for a period of time after generation of the signal by sensor 615 . in operation , product 601 is suspended at a desired angle above surface material 623 by suspension 603 . suspension platform 605 is then raised to the desired drop height . the drop height may be specified in any desired manner , such as the distance from the lowest point of suspend product 601 to surface material 623 . suspension platform 605 is then released , e . g ., from rest , and permitted to free fall descend as guided by guiding rods 611 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , at a certain height , which is typically set to be a short distance prior to impact , sensor 615 detects the presence of suspension platform 605 , or possibly even the presence of product 601 , and signals release activator 609 , e . g ., via wireless transmitter 617 and wireless control ( wc ) 619 , to cause release 607 to release suspension 603 . this is achieved by having each portion of release 607 slide down within slot 609 at a faster rate than suspension platform 605 is falling and / or having each automatically unravelable spool 641 unravel . advantageously , doing so permits product 601 to become a free dropping body for the rest of the fall . note that initially product 601 is dropping at the same rate as suspension platform 605 , and that because of the laws of mechanics product 601 will continue to fall and to maintain the angle at which is was suspended for the drop test . upon hitting adjustable stops 621 suspension platform 605 substantially immediately comes to a halt . however , product 601 continues to fall . eventually product 601 impacts on surface material 623 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 601 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 601 had it been dropped onto surface material 623 and impacted thereon at the desired angle . furthermore , because product 601 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 623 . after a time , product 601 will come to a rest on suspension platform 605 . at such a time , e . g ., which may be specified by a timer circuit , each portion of release 607 may then be automatically raised within its respective slot 609 and / or each unravelable spool 641 may be raveled so as to take up slack in suspension 603 . also , suspension platform 605 may be automatically raised to a height from which a next drop test is to be performed . thus , advantageously , the entire system is reset to perform another drop test on product 601 . in the embodiments of the invention shown in figs . 1 - 6 it is possible to achieve the effect of a drop of greater height than that to which the product being tested is actually raised . this is achieved by , for an initial period . using non - gravitational power to accelerate the drop table or suspension platform for a period of time . in order that the product being tested also appropriately accelerates in tandem with the drop table or suspension platform , the suspension includes a rigid member which is released prior to impact in accordance with the principles of the invention , possibly even prior to the rest of the suspension , e . g ., at the end of the powered acceleration period . fig7 shows an embodiment of the invention using a moving impact surface . note that the arrangement of fig7 actually implements the drop test in reverse , i . e ., all momentum prior to impact is within a moving block having thereon the surface against which the test is being conducted rather than the momentum being within the product being tested . shown in fig7 are a ) product to be drop tested 701 , b ) suspension 703 , c ) moving block 705 , d ) releases 707 , e ) release activators 709 , f ) guiding rods 711 , g ) groove 713 , h ) sensor 715 , i ) wireless transmitter 717 , j ) wireless control ( wc ) 719 , k ) adjustable stops 721 , and l ) surface material 723 . product 701 is the product undergoing drop testing . suspension 703 is any mechanism or device that can hold product 701 in a fixed position at an angle relative to the upper surface of moving block 705 . items which may be used to implement suspension 703 include one or more strings or wires of any material , one or more various clamps , chain links , ball chain , or the like . thus , although only two strings are shown in fig7 suspension 703 may be made up of additional strings , wires , clamps and the like , in any combination required to achieve the desired angle for product 701 . in this embodiment of the invention it is not recommended that suspension 703 be made of rigid materials . moving block 705 is a block , with guide holes passing through it so that the motion of moving block 705 can be constrained by guiding rods 711 . moving block 705 needs to be sufficiently massive with respect to product 701 that an impact by moving block 705 with stationary product 701 has essentially no effect on the velocity of moving block 705 . release 707 is any device which is capable of holding and then releasing suspension 703 so that at least product 701 is free to move independent of any motion of moving block 705 . release 707 may be electronically activated devices , such as , a jaw , a gripper , a hook , a rocker arm , a magnetic clamp , an unraveling spool , a solenoid , a heatable glue , an explosive mechanism , a blade , a pair scissors , or the like . release activator 709 is any control mechanism for activating release 707 . for example , it may be a wire or a heater . guiding rods 711 guide the motion of moving block 705 to insure that moving block 705 follows a prescribed course , so that the motion of moving block 705 is repeatable . guiding rods 711 pass through the guide holes of moving block 705 . guiding rods 711 need not be round but can have any arbitrary cross section . typically some form of friction reduction is used between guiding rods 711 and the guide holes of moving block 705 . this friction reduction may be achieved by employing bearings , lubrication , or the like . such guiding rods and moving blocks with holes are well known in the art . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig7 groove 713 is located within one of guiding rods 711 . within groove 713 is located adjustable sensor 715 . sensor 715 may be positioned at various heights within groove 713 , as desired by the person conducting the drop tests . sensor 715 generates a signal that indicates that moving block 705 is passing a specified point in space . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig7 preferably , the signal should be generated when the top of moving block 705 . which is covered with surface material 723 , just reaches the lowest point of product 701 as it is suspended . sensor 715 may be any type of sensor , such as a ) an optical sensor , b ) a mechanical sensor , c ) an electrical sensor , d ) a magnetic sensor , e ) a chemical sensor , or f ) the like . sensor 715 may operate in cooperation with indicators that are on , or within , moving block 705 . although shown in fig7 as being located with groove 713 , sensor 715 may be positioned anywhere required to detect that moving block 705 is passing the specified point in space . thus , the location of sensor 715 is at the discretion of the implementor , subject to the capabilities of sensor 715 . the signal generated by sensor 715 is communicated , typically , but not necessarily , indirectly to release 707 . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig7 such communication is achieved by employing wireless transmitter 717 , which transmits a wireless signal in response to receiving a signal from sensor 715 . wireless control ( wc ) 719 receives and detects the wireless signal from transmitter 717 , and in response thereto it commands release activator 709 to activate release 707 . although any form of wireless communication may be employed , typically optical or electromagnetic forms are employed . note that due to the placement of sensor 715 it may be desirable to delay activation of release 707 for a period of time after generation of the signal by sensor 715 . such a delay may be incorporated in , or between , any of the elements along the path from and including sensor 715 to release 707 . although wireless signaling has been employed in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in fig7 it is possible to employ wired forms of signaling in addition to such wireless forms , or in lieu thereof . adjustable stops 721 are employed to arrest the motion of moving block . preferably , adjustable stops 721 should provide a dead impact , so that the motion of moving block 705 in the direction toward where product 701 had been initially suspended substantially immediately ceases . surface material 723 is a layer of material that corresponds to the surface against which the drop test is simulating the dropping of the product such as described hereinabove . damage prevention material 769 is an optional layer of material to cushion the impact of product 701 against the top of the test apparatus . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that embodiments of the invention may be arranged so that there is no top to the test apparatus within the area that product 701 is likely to move after impact with moving block 705 , so that there is no need for damage prevention material 769 . in operation , product 701 is suspended at a desired impact angle above surface material 723 by suspension 703 . moving block 705 is then accelerated , as guided by guiding rods 711 , to a desired impact velocity , which is selected using fundamental principles of mechanics to correspond to the desired dropping height . note that a particular arrangement for accelerating moving block 705 is not shown , although any method , such as a ) compressed air , b ) hydraulic , c ) springs , d ) linear motors , e ) rotary motors and a converter to linear motion , such as a pulley system , or f ) the like may be employed . advantageously , the impact velocity may be set to correspond to a drop which is greater than the distance between the closest point of product 701 and mainly block 705 . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , sensor 715 detects when the top of moving block 705 , which is covered with surface material 723 , just reaches the closest point of product 701 as it is suspended , and signals release activator 709 , e . g ., via wireless transmitter 717 and wireless control ( wc ) 719 , to cause release 707 to release suspension 703 . advantageously , doing so permits product 701 to become a free body for the rest of the test . substantially simultaneously with the release of suspension 703 , surface material 723 impacts on product 701 . the result of this impact will be forces upon product 701 which are substantially the same as those which would have been experienced by product 701 had it been dropped onto surface material 723 and impacted with the desired angle at the desired impact velocity . furthermore , because product 701 has been released , it is now free to clatter and chatter in accordance with its natural dynamics and the properties of surface material 723 . moving block 705 continues to move upward until it reaches and hits adjustable stops 721 , at which point the motion of moving block 705 in the direction toward where product 701 had been initially suspended substantially immediately ceases . preferably , moving block 705 will remain at the position in which its motion ceases . in order to achieve an accurate simulation of the result that would be achieved had product 701 been dropped from a height that would have resulted in it having the same velocity v 0 as moving block 705 had at the time of impact it is necessary that adjustable stops 721 be located a distance h = v 0 / τ above the initial point of impact , where τ is the duration of clattering which results from the impact . typically the value of τ is less than 50 ms . preferably , adjustable stops 721 should be positioned so that moving block 705 will cease moving toward product 721 at a point substantially one - half way up the height of the longest suspender , e . g ., string , in suspension 703 . in other words , the length of the longest suspender is 2 h . however , the length of the suspender above adjustable stops 721 is at the discretion of the implementor . in another embodiment of the invention , suspension 703 could pass through holes in moving block 705 , so that moving block 705 could be dropped , like a drop table , onto product 701 . the downward motion of moving block 705 is arrested by adjustable stops 721 , to prevent it from crushing product 701 , and ultimately , the product lands on damage prevention material 769 , which prevents the product from being destroyed . the above described embodiments of the invention may be modified to use a low adhesive strength , i . e ., weak , tape , either as the suspension or as the release . more specifically , in such an embodiment of the invention the first impact acts to perform the functions of the sensor and release mechanism by generating a force far greater than the tape , which effectively releases the product .

6Physics

as shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration , the present invention is embodied in a method of processing an image by spatially filtering the image using an adaptive and circular - symmetric - approximating convolution filter . because the convolution filter is adaptive to the underlying spatial resolution ( in dots per inch , or dpi ) of the image , output resolution density ( also in dpi ), or both , the degree of filtering can be controlled for maximal enhancement according to the needs of teach individual image . in this document , for convenience , phrase “ circular filter ” or “ circular convolution filter ” are used in place of and with the same meaning as “ circular - symmetric - approximating filter .” note that in this example , this convolution filter is conservative ( sums to 1 ) for any value of x . the image - specific value x may be any positive value , and may depend upon the density (“ output density ” or “ output interval ”) at which the image is to be printed or displayed at an output device , in addition to the sharpening need of the image under application of the filter . for example , for printing at 300 dpi , the adaptive value may typically range from ten to 40 or higher . table 2 below illustrates adaptive values typically usable for image sharpening . for instance , if the image is to be printed at 150 dpi , then , using the adaptive value of 160 for moderate filtering effect , table 3a below illustrates the filter of table 1 with the adaptive value 160 . table 3a 0 0 − 2 *( c / 100 ) 0 0 0 0 − 9 *( c / 100 ) 0 0 0 − 9 *( c / 100 ) − 14 *( c / 100 ) − 9 *( c / 100 ) 0 − 9 *( c / 100 ) − 14 *( c / 100 ) 101 + 160 − 14 *( c / 100 ) − 9 *( c / 100 ) 0 − 9 *( c / 100 ) − 14 *( c / 100 ) − 9 *( c / 100 ) 0 0 0 − 2 *( c / 100 ) 0 0 in one embodiment , the values of the adaptive convolution filter sum to one . however , this is not required to practice the present invention , and values that do not sum to one may be used for special purposes , such as an accompanying general lightening or darkening the image . for instance , for a 5 × 5 filter similar to the filter illustrated by table 1 having c = 100 + x instead of c = 101 + x may be used . in this case , the values of the filter sums to a zero . such filters may be used for diagnosis of the underlying image structure be effectively contouring the image . the adaptive convolution filter is adaptive in another aspect . that is , the size and the values of the convolution filter are adaptable to the underlying spatial resolution (“ resolution interval ”) of the image . this is independent of the output interval . the resolution interval is that at which the image is to be printed or viewed . for example , the filter illustrated by tables 1 or 3b above may be used for a 300 dpi image . for another , a second , image having resolution density of 600 dpi , a seven - by - seven ( 7 × 7 ) filter may be used . table 4 illustrates a 7 × 7 filter that may be used to process a 600 dpi image . to filter images having even higher resolution interval , even larger adaptive convolution filters may be used . for instance , for 1200 dip images , a nine - by - nine adaptive filter or an even larger filter may be used . alternatively , the resolution interval of an image may be changed ( reduced or increased ) for the application of the adaptive convolution filter . for instance , a 1200 dpi image may be changed to a 300 dpi image for application of the 5 × 5 filter of table 1 . on the other hand , a 150 dpi image may be changed to a 300 dpi image for application of the 5 × 5 filter of table 1 . standard extrapolation and interpolation techniques for changing the resolution interval of digitized images are known in the art . referring to fig1 a computing apparatus 10 implementing one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated . the apparatus 10 includes a processor 12 , for example a central processing unit connected to storage 14 . the storage 14 includes image files 16 , instructions 18 for the processor 12 , or both . the instructions 18 include instructions for the processor 12 to filtering the image 14 using an adaptive convolution filter described herein above including , but not limited to , all aspects of the filtering technique and the properties of the filters . the processor 12 and the storage 14 may be connected to each other via a system bus 20 . output devices such as a monitor 22 , a printer 24 , or both may be connected to the system 10 via the system bus 20 . capabilities of these output devices 22 and 24 determine display density of the images 14 filtered by the processor 12 . from the foregoing , it will be appreciated that the present invention is novel and offers advantages over the current art . although a specific embodiment of the invention is described and illustrated above , the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated . for example , other sizes of the adaptive convolution filters may be used to achieve similar results . the invention is limited by the claims that follow .

6Physics

any aluminum alkoxide containing 2 or more carbon atoms in the alkoxy group can be used in our process . usually , the alkoxy group contains a maximum of 40 carbon atoms , more usually , a maximum of 30 carbon atoms . usually , the aluminum alkoxides are a mixture containing alkoxy groups of differing carbon content . when , pure aluminum alkoxides are used it is preferable that the maximum carbon content be 18 or lower in order that the material will be a liquid . our process is particularly suitable for use with aluminum alkoxides prepared by oxidation of aluminum trialkyls prepared by the ziegler process . as is well - known the alkyl groups in these aluminum trialkyls contain from 2 to 40 carbon atoms , more usually 2 to 30 carbon atoms , with a predominant amount of 8 to 16 carbon atom alkyls . while our process can be operated on a batch basis preferably it is operated on a continuous basis since this is preferred in commercial operations . the important feature of our process is admixing the water and aluminum alkoxide under high velocity conditions prior to passing the resulting admixture to the reactor . knowing that the admixing occurs prior to entering the reactor the specific means of doing this can be designed by any person skilled in the art . for example , the water and alkoxide can unite conjointly as by having a tee - joint connection . also , the alkoxide can be injected onto the water stream and both passed on to the reactor . further , the water and alkoxide can be added to a manifold adjacent to the reactor . the aluminum alkoxide is at high velocity when it is admixed with the water . the water may be at high velocity , if desired . as used herein the term &# 34 ; high velocity &# 34 ; means greater than 40 feet per second as determined using the formula wherein v = velocity , f = rate of flow in pounds per second , p = density in pounds per cubic foot , and a = orifice area in square feet . preferably , the velocity is greater than 100 feet per second . more preferably , the velocity is greater than 170 feed per second . the relative amounts of water and aluminum alkoxide suitable is in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 5 pounds of water per pound of aluminum alkoxide . preferably , the amount of water is in the range of about 1 . 0 to about 3 , on the same basis . the aluminum alkoxides suitably are at a temperature in the range of about 50 to about 150 ° c ., preferably in the range of about 70 to about 120 ° c . the water suitably is at a temperature in the range of about 40 to about 150 ° c ., preferably in the range of about 70 to about 120 ° c . the water - aluminum alkoxide admixture is then passed to the reactor . the remainder of the process is as described in the general background section . the alumina produced by our process is predominantly a mixture of boehmite and pseudoboehmite , usually containing at least 80 percent of these . more usually , the alumina will contain at least 90 percent of a mixture of boehmite and pseudoboehmite . also , the alumina produced by out process has a higher pore volume and lower bulk density than alumina prepared by the conventional process . higher pore volume means more surface area which usually is advantageous . lower bulk density is a commerical advantage since the product is usually sold by volume . in order to illustrate the nature of the present invention still more clearly the following examples will be given . it is to be understood , however , that the invention is not to be limited to the specific conditions or details set forth in these examples except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims . the aluminum alkoxides used in these examples were prepared from aluminum trialkyls prepared by the ziegler process . the alkoxide groups had the following carbon number composition . ______________________________________carbon no . weight % ______________________________________c . sub . 2 0 . 42c . sub . 4 2 . 85c . sub . 6 8 . 25c . sub . 8 14 . 71c . sub . 10 18 . 78c . sub . 12 18 . 57c . sub . 14 14 . 95c . sub . 16 10 . 15c . sub . 18 5 . 94c . sub . 20 3 . 00c . sub . 22 1 . 41c . sub . 24 0 . 58c . sub . 26 0 . 22c . sub . 28 0 . 08c . sub . 30 0 . 02c . sub . 32 0 . 01 100 . 00______________________________________ runs were made having a high alkoxide velocity and a high alkoxide and water velocities . the process conditions are shown below . also shown are the process conditions for a standard run ( i . e . -- no high velocity ). ______________________________________process conditions run a run b run c______________________________________injection nozzle 0 . 04 ( 2 ) diameter , inches 0 . 158 ( 1 ) 0 . 031 ( 1 ) 0 . 04reactor temperature , ° c . 93 . 9 96 . 1 95 . 6alkoxide temperature , ° c . 82 . 8 84 . 4 74 . 4water temperature , ° c . 87 . 2 81 . 1 90 . 6alkoxide injectionvelocity , ( ft / sec ) 6 . 9 178 93 . 6alkoxide flow rate ( lb / hr ) 182 180 159water flow rate ( lb / hr ) 200 195 187______________________________________ ( 1 ) alkoxide only ( 2 ) for both alkoxide and water from the reactor until the finished product ( alumina ) was obtained the conditions of the runs were substantially the same . more specifically , the alcohol and slurry phases were withdrawn from the reactor . the water - alumina slurry was subjected to a butanol extractor and to a steam stripping operation to remove alcohol . the slurry was then spray dried . the physical properties of the products obtained from the three runs are shown below . ______________________________________property run a run b run c______________________________________surface area ( m . sup . 2 / gm ) 288 312 355loose bulk density ( lb / ft . sup . 3 ) 44 . 7 28 . 4 32 . 3al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 content ( wt . %) 72 . 4 71 . 2 73 . 8______________________________________ ______________________________________pore volume distribution ( cc / gm ) run a run b run c______________________________________0 - 50 a 0 . 15 0 . 14 0 . 260 - 100 a 0 . 43 0 . 43 0 . 480 - 250 a 0 . 45 0 . 48 0 . 530 - 500 a 0 . 46 0 . 52 0 . 570 - 1 , 000 a 0 . 47 0 . 55 0 . 610 - 10 , 000 a 0 . 50 0 . 76 0 . 74______________________________________ thus , having described the invention in detail , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that certain variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined herein and in the appended claims .

2Chemistry; Metallurgy

in the drawings , a first embodiment of a portable infusion pump unit or apparatus is disclosed designated the reference numeral 10 in its entirety . the apparatus 10 comprises a housing composed of two shell - like housing parts 12 and 14 constituting a front and rear housing part , respectively . the front an rear housing parts 12 and 14 , respectively , are easily disassembled allowing the user to obtain access to the interior of the apparatus for substituting an interior fluid passage component to be described in greater detail below with reference to fig3 constituting a disposable pre - sterilized component which is easily demounted after use and readily replaced prior to use . from the rear side of the housing part 14 , a clip 16 allowing the apparatus 10 to be fixed to a strap or a belt extends . it is to be realised that terms such as upper , lower , front , rear , etc ., unless otherwise stated , in the present context define positions or orientations determined by the intentional application of the apparatus 10 as the apparatus is positioned in an upright and substantially vertical position , e . g . received in the belt of a user by means of the clip 16 or otherwise positioned exteriorly or non - implantatedly relative to the user . in the front housing part 12 , a display 20 is provided , comprising two sets of two digits designated the reference numerals 22 and 24 , respectively , for displaying digits representing the time lapsed or the time remaining for infusion operation expressed in minutes and hours , respectively , or seconds and minutes , respectively , or alternatively for displaying digits representing the supply of infusion liquid as expressed in volume per time unit , e . g . ml per hour . the display 20 further includes a display area 26 for informing the user and / or a person operating the infusion pump apparatus 10 or nursing the user regarding the operational mode of the apparatus , such as standby or running information . furthermore , the display 20 includes a number of individual displays positioned above one another and above the standby / running display 26 , one of which is designated the reference numeral 28 . these individual displays 28 are adapted to display information such as the operational mode , e . g . the information that the apparatus is in a program mode , information regarding whatever information is presented on the two - digit displays 22 , 24 , such as the time remaining for infusion operation , the total time of the infusion operation , whether or not the apparatus is running or is to be started , or any other relevant information to be presented to the user or operator . the display 20 further includes three individual alarm displays 30 , 32 and 34 for informing the user of the presence of air in the infusion pump circuitry , pressure fault or failure or low battery , respectively . a further display 36 informs the user or operator of the program sequence presently used or programmed , which program sequence is represented by a digit displaced by a 1 - digit display 38 . a 3 - digit display 40 of the display 20 represents information to the user or operator regarding the infusion supply measured in ml per hour or similar relevant measure or ratio . below the display 20 , a keyboard 42 is provided including a set of keys , one of which is designated the reference numeral 44 for allowing the user / operator to control the portable infusion pump unit 10 to perform a specific operation or to program the apparatus by shifting between specific program sequences by increasing a specific digit displayed in a 1 -, 2 - or 3 - digit display , such as the displays 22 , 24 , 38 and 40 , by increasing or reducing the digit in question and by shifting a cursor route relative to the various individual displays of the display 20 for allowing the user / operator to modify the operational mode or shift between various preset programs of the apparatus . at the one side wall of the housing , composed by the housing parts 12 and 14 of the unit or apparatus 10 , two terminals 46 and 48 are provided for allowing the apparatus 10 to be connected to an electronic charger for supplying electric power to an internal rechargeable battery pack or cell of the apparatus . the terminals 46 and 48 may alternatively or additionally serve as input / output terminals for establishing communication between the apparatus 10 and an external apparatus or equipment such as an external data logging apparatus or surveillance apparatus or further alternatively for communicating with an external processing unit such as a personal computer or data logging apparatus . still further , the apparatus 10 may be provided with a conventional input / output terminal such as a conventional rs 232 terminal for establishing communication between the apparatus 10 and an external computer such as the above - mentioned personal computer for processing data produced by the apparatus concerning the operational mode of the apparatus and also supplementary data produced by the apparatus or auxiliary equipment , e . g . data representing the temperature of the infusion liquid supplied by the apparatus 10 or data supplied by additional external measuring or surveillance equipment . in the top wall of the housing of the apparatus 10 two recesses are provided for receiving two tube connectors 50 and 52 constituting a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet , respectively , of the above - mentioned fluid passage component to be described in further detail below with reference to fig3 . as is evident from fig2 , a further fluid outlet 54 is provided in the bottom wall of the housing of the apparatus 10 opposite to the fluid outlet 52 . in fig2 , the interior structure of the portable infusion pump unit or apparatus 10 is disclosed , illustrating the fluid inlet 50 and the fluid outlets 52 and 54 . in fig2 , the reference numerals 56 and 58 designate two printed circuit boards including the electronic circuitry of the apparatus and including the display , the rechargeable power pack or cell circuitry and the cpu - circuitry of the apparatus controlling the overall operation of the apparatus including the infusion operation . alternatively , the electronic circuitry of the apparatus may be included in a single printed circuit board or , alternatively , three or more printed circuit boards . the internal re - chargeable battery pack or cell is designated the reference numeral 60 . in fig2 , the internal flow system of the portable infusion pump apparatus 10 is disclosed , constituting a disposable and replaceable fluid passage component as mentioned above and including an inlet tube 62 connected to the fluid inlet 50 . two capacitive detectors 64 and 66 are mounted on the inlet tube 62 and communicate with the electronic circuitry of the apparatus housed on the printed circuit board 56 and 58 for detecting presence of air bubbles , if any , in the infusion liquid input to the fluid inlet 50 . at its output end , the inlet tube 62 communicates with a first check valve 68 which constitutes an inlet to a pump housing component 70 , in which an internal fluid passage is provided , as will be described in greater details below with reference to fig3 , which fluid passage terminates in an output or second check valve 72 from which two branched - off outlet tubes 74 and 76 communicate with the fluid outlets 54 and 52 , respectively . for transferring the infusion liquid or any other liquid input to the portable infusion pump unit 10 through the fluid inlet 50 to an application site through one of the fluid outlets 52 and 54 , a piston type pump actuator 78 is provided . the internal flow system of the portable infusion pump comprising the fluid inlet 50 , the inlet tube 52 , the capacitive detectors 64 and 66 belonging to the inlet tube 62 , the first check valve 68 , the pump housing component 70 , the output check valve 72 , the outlet tubes 74 and 76 , and the outlets 52 and 54 constitute an integral disposable and replaceable fluid passage component to be described in greater detail below with reference to fig3 . in fig3 , the interior of the check valves and also the pump housing component 70 is disclosed in greater detail . the first check valve 58 basically comprises a central circular cylindrical housing component 80 from which a frusto - conical top part 81 extends upwardly communicating with the inlet tube 62 and arresting an inlet filter element 82 at the transition between the frusto - conical top part 81 and the cylindrical housing component 80 . the cylindrical housing component 80 comprises a central annular oral component 84 which is sealed off in the initial or non - active position by a downwardly deflectable sealing membrane 86 . provided the pressure below the sealing membrane 86 is lower than the pressure above the membrane 86 , the membrane 86 is forced downwardly allowing liquid to pass through the central aperture of the central annular component 84 and further through apertures 87 provided offset relatively to the centre of the sealing membrane 86 . the first check valve 68 communicates with an inlet passage 88 of the pumping house component 70 terminating in an inner chamber defined within an upwardly protruding annular top housing component 90 in which a reciprocating plunger 94 of the piston pump actuator 78 is movable in the direction to and from an abutting pin 96 which separates the inlet passage 88 from an outlet passage 98 . the interspace between the reciprocating plunger of the piston pump 78 and the inner surface of the annular top housing component 90 is sealed by means of a highly flexible sealing gasket 92 . the outlet passage 98 communicates with the above described second check valve 72 which is basically of a configuration similar to and functioning as a check valve similar to the above described first check valve 58 , however differing from the above described first check valve in that the second check valve 72 does not include any filter element similar to the filter element 82 . the second check valve 72 includes a downwardly protruding annular housing part 100 , which is cast integral with the pumping house component 70 , fulfilling , however , the same purpose as the above described annular housing part 80 of the first check valve . from the annular housing part 100 , a downwardly protruding frusto - conical housing part 101 similar to the above described frusto - conical housing part 81 extends communicating with the outlet tube 74 and similarly the outlet tube 76 described above with reference to fig2 . within the annular housing part 100 , a sealing membrane 102 similar to the above described sealing member 86 is received , which includes apertures 103 similar to the apertures 87 described above . the sealing membrane 102 communicates with a conical bore 99 communicating with the outlet passage 98 for sealing off communication from the outlet passage 98 , through the conical bore 99 to the outlet tube 74 provided the sealing membrane 102 rests against an abutting lower surface defining the lower boundary of the conical bore 99 . the pumping operation of the portable infusion pump unit 10 is established as follows . initially , the first check valve 68 and the second check valve 72 are in their initial and sealing positions . it is also assumed that liquid is present within the inlet tube 62 within the inlet passage 88 and the outlet passage 98 and also within the outlet tube 74 . the piston pump actuator 78 is activated through the supply of an electric signal such as an alternating electric signal or a pulsed signal causing the reciprocating plunger 94 to move upwardly or downwardly . the piston pump actuator 78 will be described in greater detail below with reference to fig6 - 12 . the plunger 94 is pressed downwardly in relation to the orientation of the piston pump actuator 78 shown in fig3 . assuming that the first movement of the reciprocating plunger 94 is in movement upwardly , a relative vacuum is created within the inlet passage 88 and the outlet passage 98 by the increase of the volume defined below the sealing gasket 92 . through the creation of the relative vacuum within the inlet passage 88 , the first check valve 68 is operated as the downwardly deflectable sealing membrane 86 is caused to move downwardly allowing liquid to flow into the inlet channel 88 through the central aperture of the central annular component 84 as described above . at the same time , the relative vacuum within the outlet passage 98 creates a relative vacuum above the sealing membrane 102 which is biased so as to prevent free flow through the second check valve 72 urging or forcing the sealing membrane into sealing off and abutting engagement with a wall part circumferentially encircling and defining the conical bore 99 , and consequently preventing liquid from being transferred from the outlet passage 98 to the outlet tube 74 . in summary , during the raising of the reciprocating plunger 94 , the first check valve 68 is activated and caused to open whereas the second check valve 72 is blocked . as the reciprocating plunger is moved downwardly , a relative increased pressure is created within the inlet passage 88 and the outlet passage 98 and the operations of the first and second check valves are shifted as the relative increased pressure within the inlet passage 88 causes the first check valve 68 to block and seal off whereas the increased pressure within the outlet passage 98 causes the second check valve 72 to open allowing the fluid present within the outlet passage 98 to be forced out through the conical passage 99 , through the apertures 103 of the sealing membrane 102 and further into the outlet tube 74 . the rate of transfer and consequence the flow of liquid from the outlet tube 74 is controlled by the rate of operation of the piston pump actuator 78 as an increased frequency of reciprocating the reciprocating plunger 94 increases the velocity of flow of fluid or liquid from the inlet tube 62 to the outlet tube 74 . above the second check valve 72 , a bypass valve is provided , comprising a sealing membrane 104 which is acted upon by a central stem element 106 of a turnable knob 108 so as to force the sealing membrane 104 into sealing off and abutting engagement with a conical bore 105 provided above and in registration with the above described conical bore 99 . provided the conical bore 105 is sealed off by means of the sealing membrane 104 , the bypass valve is not in operation . provided the sealing membrane 104 is raised from its sealing off and abutting engagement with the conical bore 105 as the knob 108 is rotated for causing elevation of the actuator stem 106 , communication from the outlet passage 98 is established through a bypass passage 110 , bypassing the communication from the outlet passage 98 through the conical passage 99 for allowing fluid to flow from the outlet passage 98 through the bypass passage 110 and further through the apertures 103 of the sealing membrane 102 which is consequently not functioning as the bypass valve is in operation . the piston pump actuator 78 , which may constitute a replaceable component of the portable infusion pump unit or apparatus 10 , may provide a specific stroke and , consequently , a specific flow volume per stroke . therefore , the actuator 78 is preferably provided with a switch cooperating with a switch of the electronic circuitry of the apparatus for informing the microprocessor of the electronic circuitry of the apparatus of the type of piston pump actuator included within the apparatus at present . the technique of providing information to the microprocessor concerning the type of piston pump included within the apparatus at present may be established by means of numerous techniques well - known in the art per se such as by means of code switches , optic capacitive or inductive readers , or simply by means of a feedback circuit monitoring the work rate of the piston pump actuator . in fig3 , an inlet tube 112 is shown establishing communication from the inlet tube 62 through the fluid inlet 50 not shown in fig3 , however , shown in fig2 from an infusion bag 114 which may constitute an infusion bag including an infusion liquid simply constituting physiological liquid or additionally or alternatively a drug suspended in any appropriate liquid , or alternatively blood plasma . the outlet from the outlet tube 74 of the portable infusion pump unit 10 shown in fig4 is connected to an outlet tube 116 through the fluid outlet 54 , not shown in fig3 , however , shown in fig2 , which external outlet tube 116 communicates with a cannular assembly 118 of a basically conventional structure . the inlet tube 112 and the outlet tube 116 may constitute separate inlet and outlet tubes to be connected to the infusion pump unit 10 through the inlet and outlet 50 and 52 or , alternatively , 54 , respectively . alternatively , and preferably , the inlet tube 112 and the outlet tube 116 constitute integral components of the disposable and replaceable fluid passage component illustrated in fig3 , which fluid passage component is cooperating with and activated by means of the piston pump actuator 78 . further alternatively , the infusion bag 114 may be configurated and housed within a container component which is configurated so as to allow the infusion bag 114 to be received and supported on top of the infusion pump unit or apparatus 10 as the above - mentioned receiver is simply connected to and supported by the housing of the portable infusion unit or apparatus 10 . the infusion of liquid from the infusion bag 104 is further illustrated in fig4 , in which the portable infusion pump 10 is received and fixed relative to an individual 120 by means of a belt or strap 122 on which the infusion bag 114 is further fixated . in fig4 , the external inlet tube 112 , the external outlet tube 116 and the cannular assembly 118 are also illustrated . in fig5 , the above described first embodiment of the portable infusion pump unit or apparatus 10 is shown in duplicate received within a stationary receptor 140 in which a plurality of receptor compartments 142 are defined . each of the receptor compartments 142 is provided with a set of charger terminals for establishing electrical conductive communication with the charger terminal 46 and 48 of the apparatus or unit 10 received within the receptor compartment 140 in question for charging the internal rechargeable battery pack or cell of the apparatus or unit through the supply of electric energy from a mains power supply unit of the receptor assembly 140 which mains supply power supply unit receives electric power through a coiled mains supply wire 148 terminating in a mains plug 150 which is received in a mains ac outlet socket 152 . the receptor assembly 140 further includes a set of indicator lamps 144 and 146 . provided none of the indicator lamps 144 and 146 corresponding to a specific receptor compartment 142 are turned off , the indication informs the user or operator that no charging is taking place in the receptor compartment in question . provided a portable infusion pump unit is received within a specific receptor compartment 142 , one of the lamps 144 and 146 corresponding to the receptor compartment is turned off , one of which informs the user or operator that the potable infusion pump unit in question is to be recharged , or alternatively the other lamp is turned on informing the user or operator that the portable infusion pump unit in question is fully charged and ready for use . alternative information display modes , such as flashing of lamps for informing malfunction in the rechargeable battery pack or cell of the portable infusion pump is of course also readily deduceable . in connection with infusion pumps , particularly portable medicinal infusion pumps , it is important that the pumping action be carried out by a very compact actuator functioning as quietly as possible , with as low energy consumption as possible and with as small a waste heat production as possible . the pump actuator 78 in fig2 and 3 is , according to the invention , a shape memory alloy actuator which embodies all the above desirable characteristics . several shape memory alloy actuators for use as a pump actuator in medicinal infusion pumps will be described in following , it being understood that these actuators are particularly useful as the pump actuator 78 in fig2 and 3 . referring now to fig6 and 7 , a pivotable body in the form of a circular disc 1 ′ is arranged for pivoting around a central pivot 2 ′ fixedly attached to a not shown frame of the actuator , and the disc 1 ′ is provided with a peripheral extension 3 ′ and a yoke - like peripheral extension 5 ′. a tension coil spring 6 ′ is at one end thereof pivotably attached to a fastening pin 7 ′ fixedly attached to said frame and is at the other end thereof pivotably attached to a fastening pin 8 ′ fixedly attached to the peripheral extension 3 ′. two wires or filaments 9 ′ and 10 ′ of a shape memory alloy such as nickel titanium alloy or nitinol , for instance supplied by the company dynalloy , inc , of costa mesa , calif ., usa , under the trade name flexinol , are attached at one end thereof to electrically conductive terminals 11 ′ and 12 ′, respectively , fixedly attached to said frame . the other end of each of the wires 9 ′ and 10 is attached to an electrically conductive terminal 13 ′ fixedly attached to the periphery of the disc 1 ′. the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ extend along the periphery of the disc 1 ′ such that the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ when tensioned extend along and are supported by said periphery . in the drawings the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ are shown spaced from said periphery for the sake of clarity . a sliding body 14 ′ having two arms 15 ′ and 16 ′ is arranged for sliding movement between two stop pins 17 ′ and 18 ′ attached to the frame . a pin 19 ′ attached to the sliding body 14 ′ is received in the fork 5 a ′ of the yoke - like extension 5 ′ such that the pin 19 ′ may slide and rotate freely in the fork when the disc 1 ′ pivots from the position shown in fig6 to the position shown in fig7 thereby slidingly displacing the body 14 ′ from abutment against stop pin 18 ′ to abutment against stop pin 17 ′ with the arm 15 ′, constituting the activating pin of the actuator , fully extended . a proximity sensor 20 ′ is attached to the frame and connected to not shown electrical conductors for transmitting a signal from the sensor to a not shown receiver . the terminals 11 ′ and 12 ′ are likewise each connected to an electrical conductor , not shown , connected to a not shown power source for supplying electrical power to the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ for resistance heating thereof , the terminal 13 ′ being likewise connected to the not shown power source through a not shown electrical conductor for closing the resistance heating circuit . in use , the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ are intermittently heated to the transformation or transition temperature ( from martensitic to austenitic state ) of the shape memory alloy which temperature for nitinol is approximately 90 ° c . thereby the length of the wire is shortened . when the wire cools to below 90 ° c . the length thereof reverts to normal , i . e . the wire lengthens . the speed at which the shortening takes place , i . e . the contraction time , is directly related to the current input . i . e . the voltage applied over the terminals 11 ′ or 12 ′ and 13 ′. in the position depicted in fig6 , the intermediate disc 1 ′ is in its outermost counter clock - wise position with the arm 15 ′ fully retracted and with the wire 9 ′ cooled to below 90 ° c . and the wire 10 ′ heated to above 90 ° c . by applying an electrical voltage between the terminal 12 ′ and 13 ′ whereby an electrical current will flow through the wire 10 ′. the disc 1 ′ has therefore been rotated counter clock - wise to the position shown by the contraction force exerted by the wire 10 ′. in the next step , the wire 10 ′ is cooled to below 90 ° c . and thereby lengthens to the shape indicated by the dotted line 10 a ′ in fig6 . the actuator is now ready to perform an activating extension of the arm 15 ′ towards the left , the end of the arm 15 ′ being intended to come into contact with a not shown plunger 94 and depress or activate same during the movement of the arm 15 ′ to the extended leftwards position thereof as depicted in fig7 . thereafter or simultaneously , the wire 9 ′ is heated to above 90 ° c . whereby it contracts and exerts a clock - wise force on the disc 1 ′ pivoting it clock - wise around the pivot 2 ′ past the balance position of the disc 1 ′ and spring 6 ′ in which the attachment pins 7 ′ and 8 ′ of the spring 6 ′ are aligned with the pivot 2 ′. when the disc 1 ′ has rotated clock - wise past said balance point , the tension force exerted by the spring 7 ′ will continue the clock - wise rotation of the disc 1 ′ to the position shown in fig7 with the arm 15 ′ fully extended and the wire 9 ′ slack though still above 90 ° c . this is the actual activating movement of the actuator where the force applied to the sliding body 14 ′ by the extension 5 ′ increases because of the increasing lever of force or moment arm of the tension force exerted by the spring 6 ′ on the intermediate disc 1 ′ with respect to the pivot 2 ′ or axis of rotation of the disc 1 ′. for applications where the force necessary to perform the function of the actuator , such as depressing the pump plunger 94 in fig3 , increases during the activating stroke , said increase of the spring force moment arm as the disc 1 ′ rotates is a very advantageous feature as will be explained more in detail in connection with fig1 and 14 in the following . an increase of the activating force of the actuator during the activating stroke is also achieved or enhanced by decreasing the distance of the pin 19 ′ from the pivot 2 ′ or axis of rotation of the disc 1 ′ during the activating stroke whereby the moment arm or lever of force of the displacement force exerted on the pin 19 ′ by the yoke - like extension 5 ′ with respect to the pivot 2 ′ is decreased and thereby the displacement force is increased during the activating stroke . this shortening of said distance can be seen from the situation in fig6 at the beginning of the activation stroke to the situation in fig7 at the end of the activation stroke . finally , the wire 10 ′ is heated above 90 ° c . so that it contracts and pivots the disc 1 ′ back to the position shown in fig6 whereby the activating cycle is ready to be repeated . the length of the wire 10 ′ is larger than the length of the wire 9 ′ because the contraction or shortening of the wire 10 ′ must be large enough to pivot the disc 1 ′ from the position shown in fig7 past the balance point mentioned above while the shortening of the wire 9 ′ only has to be enough the pivot the disc 1 ′ from the position shown in fig6 past said balance point . nitinol wires will typically contract about 3 %- 6 % when heated past the transition temperature . the uncontracted length of the wire 10 ′ should be enough to ensure that the uncontracted wire is fully extended in the position shown in fig7 and that the contracted wire 10 ′ is fully extended when the disc 1 ′ is at least slightly past said balance point in the counter - clockwise direction , i . e . the uncontracted length of wire 10 ′ should be about 22 - 25 times the distance of travel of terminal 13 ′ between the fig7 position thereof and the balance point position thereof . the necessary contraction force to be exerted by wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ are rather different because the contraction force of wire 9 ′ only has to counteract the torque or moment of the spring force of spring 6 ′ with the relatively small torque arm in fig6 while the contraction force of wire 10 ′ has to counteract the considerably larger torque of said spring force in fig7 . the contraction force of a nitinol wire is larger the larger the diameter or cross sectional area of the wire . the cross sectional area of wire 10 ′ is thus considerably larger than the cross sectional area of wire 9 ′ or there may be a number of wires 10 ′ with the same cross sectional area . the latter possibility is chosen if it is necessary that the cooling - off time for the wires 10 ′ is as short of possible so that the interval between the activating cycles may be as short as possible . several small diameter wires with a certain total cross sectional area will cool more rapidly than a single larger diameter wire with the same cross sectional area . the signal emitted by the proximity sensor 20 ′ each time the extension 3 ′ is in the position shown in fig7 may be utilised for many different purposes such as for instance a mere monitoring of the correct function of the actuator or for controlling the timing of the heating of the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ and thereby the timing of the activating stroke of the sliding body 14 ′. naturally , the location of the proximity sensor or of any other type of sensor for sensing the position of the disc 1 ′ may be varied according to the purpose thereof , and several such sensors may be provided in different locations for instance for achieving a more complex control of the timing of the activating effect of the actuator . referring now to fig8 , this embodiment differs from the embodiment of fig6 - 7 in that a double activating effect may be achieved for each cycle of heating and cooling the shape memory wires 21 ′ and 22 ′ that in this case are of equal length and cross sectional area . the rotation of the disc 1 ′ counter - clockwise and clockwise is limited by stop pins 23 ′ and 24 ′, respectively . the activating member may be a sliding body similar to body 14 ′ in fig6 - 7 where both the arm 15 ′ and the arm 16 ′ perform an activating function , or the activating function may be a pull / push activation by for instance arm 15 ′. the disc 1 ′ may alternatively be provided with a central torsion shaft projecting at right angles to the plane of the disc 1 ′ as a prolongation of the pivot 2 ′ such that the torsion shaft functions as the activating member by for instance rotating a lever to and fro . many different types of activating members connected to the disc 1 ′ will be obvious to those skilled in the art . in the position shown in fig8 , the disc 1 ′ has just performed an activating rotation counter - clockwise under the influence of the counter - clockwise torque of the force of the spring 6 ′ and is ready for the initiation of a rotation clockwise by heating the wire 21 ′ so that the disc 1 ′ is rotated against the counter - clockwise torque of the spring force until the balance point is passed . then the activating rotation clock - wise is performed by the clock - wise torque of the spring force . also in this embodiment the moment arm of the activating force of the spring 6 ′ increases during the activating stroke in both directions . referring now to fig9 , the terminal 13 ′ of the embodiments of fig6 - 8 has been substituted by a combined terminal and abutment member 28 ′ for abutting the stop pins 24 ′ and 25 ′. furthermore , another type of biasing means is utilized , namely a piston and cylinder mechanism comprising a pressurized cylinder 24 ′ pivotably attached to pin 7 ′, a piston 26 ′ and a piston rod 27 ′ pivotably attached to the disc 1 ′ by means of a pin 27 ′. the piston and cylinder mechanism 24 ′- 25 ′ functions like a compression spring and could in fact be substituted by a compression spring . in fig9 the disc 1 ′ is in the balance point position where the pin 7 ′, the pin 27 ′ and the pivot 2 ′ are aligned such that the pressure exerted on the disc 1 ′ by the piston rod 25 ′ does not produce any torque on the disc 1 ′. in the situation shown in fig9 , the wire 22 ′ is contracting and rotating the disc counter clock - wise past the balance point . as soon as the balance point has been passed , the torque from the piston rod 25 ′ will cause the activating counter clock - wise rotation of the disc 1 ′ until the member 28 ′ abuts the stop pin 23 ′ whereupon a clockwise rotation may be initiated in a manner very similar to that described above in relation to fig8 . the tension spring 6 ′ in fig6 - 7 could also be substituted by a piston and cylinder mechanism or a compression spring in an arrangement similar to fig9 . referring now to fig1 - 12 an activating body 30 ′ is arranged linearly displaceable in the directions of arrows r 1 and r 2 under the influence of a shape memory alloy wire 31 ′ and a two - armed lever 32 ′. one end of the wire 31 ′ is attached to the body 30 ′ at 33 ′ and the other end is attached to a fixed portion 37 a ′ of a not shown frame of the actuator , the wire 31 ′ extending around a pulley 34 ′ pivotably arranged on a slide 35 ′ displaceable in the directions of the arrows r 1 and r 2 . a compression spring 36 ′ is arranged between the body 30 ′ and the slide 35 ′ and extends through a passage through a fixed portion 37 ′ of said frame . the two - armed lever 32 ′ is arranged pivotable around a pivot 38 ′, one arm 39 ′ of the lever abutting a pin 40 ′ on the body 30 ′ and the other arm 41 ′ of the lever being attached at 42 ′ to one end of a tension spring 43 ′, the other end being attached to a fixed portion 44 ′ of said frame such that displacement of the body 30 ′ in the direction of arrow r 1 tensions the spring 43 ′ via rotation of the intermediate lever 32 ′. a pawl or hook element 45 ′ is arranged pivotable around a pivot 46 ′ such that a hook or projection 47 ′ of the hook element 45 ′ may be received in a matching recess 48 ′ in the body 30 ′. a shape memory alloy wire 49 ′ is at one end attached to the hook element 45 ′ and at the other end attached to a fixed portion 50 ′ of said frame . a compression spring 51 ′ is arranged between the fixed portion 50 ′ and the hook element 45 ′. in use , the body 30 ′ is moved to and fro in the direction of the arrows r 1 and r 2 to activate the plunger 94 during the activating stroke of the body in the direction r 1 . in fig1 the wire 31 ′ is cooled to below the transformation temperature of the alloy ( for instance by sandwiching the wire between two aluminum rails coated with ptfe ) and is at its maximum length and is maintained taut by the biasing action of the compression spring 36 ′. the hook 47 ′ is received in the recess 48 ′ and holds the body 30 ′ against the biasing force of the spring 43 ′ transmitted to the pin 40 ′ by means of the lever 32 ′. the wire 49 ′ is also in its cool state and at its maximum length . when the activating stroke is to be initiated , the wire 49 ′ is heated to the transformation temperature and shortens or contracts , thereby pivoting the hook element 45 ′ against the biasing force of the spring 51 ′ such that the hook 47 ′ is pulled out of the recess 48 ′ to the release position shown in fig1 . the body 30 ′ is thus released for displacement in direction r 1 under the influence of the lever 32 ′ pivoted by the spring 43 ′. during the activating stroke of body 30 ′ in direction r 1 the lever or moment arm of the force exerted by the spring 43 ′ relative to the pivot 38 ′ or the axis of rotation of the lever 32 ′ increases such that the displacement force exerted on the pin 40 ′ by the arm 39 ′ increases as the body 30 ′ is displaced in the direction r 1 . likewise , during the activating stroke by the body 30 ′ in direction r 1 , the lever or moment arm of the displacement force exerted by the arm 39 ′ on the pin 40 ′ relative to the pivot 38 ′ decreases whereby said displacement force increases as the body 30 ′ is displaced in the direction r 1 . when the slide 35 ′ abuts the fixed frame portion 37 ′, the activating stroke in direction r 1 will be stopped as shown in fig1 . in practice the activating stroke preferably is stopped by the resistance to the activating stroke of the body 30 ′ by the plunger 94 being activated such that the stroke is stopped before the slide 35 ′ abuts the fixed frame portion 37 ′. so as to cock the actuator again , the wire 49 ′ is cooled to allow the spring 51 ′ to pivot the hook element 45 ′ towards the holding position thereof while the wire 31 ′ is heated until it shortens and thereby causes the slide 35 ′ to abut the fixed frame portion 37 ′ and the pulley 34 ′ to rotate clock - wise while the body 30 ′ is displaced in the direction r 2 against the force of the spring 43 ′ that thereby is lengthened while the lever 32 ′ pivots counter clock - wise . when the body 30 ′ has reached the position shown in fig1 , the hook 47 ′ is pressed into the recess 48 ′ and the wire 31 ′ may then be cooled so that the situation in fig1 is re - established ready to initiate a new activation cycle of the actuator . during the tensioning of the spring 43 ′, the force exerted by the wire 31 ′ necessary for this tensioning is largest at the beginning of the displacement of the body 30 ′ in the direction r 2 because of the large moment arm of the force of the spring 43 ′ and the small moment arm of the rotation force of the pin 40 ′ on the arm 39 ′, and the force exerted by the wire 31 ′ decreases as the body 30 ′ is displaced in the direction r 2 . this is an advantageous development of the force in the wire 31 ′ during the cocking of the actuator as will be explained more in detail in the following in connection with fig1 and 14 . by adapting the actuator according to the invention such that the activating stroke is performed by a force exerted by a biasing means , a further advantage is obtained in that any blocking of the activating stroke of the activating body , for instance because the pump plunger 94 is blocked , will only entail that the activation stroke is stopped with no damage to the sma wire . if the activating stroke were carried out under the influence of a shortening of a shape memory alloy wire , said wire would probabaly be damaged or snapped if the activating stroke were blocked . the extra length of the wire 31 ′ obtained by means of the pulley 34 ′ is advantageous for giving a longer activating stroke with a compact construction of the actuator . the heating of the wires 31 ′ and 49 ′ is carried out in a manner similar to the heating of the wires 9 ′ and 10 ′ in fig6 - 7 by means of not shown electrically conductive connections of the ends thereof to the battery pack 60 of the infusion pump unit according to the invention . referring now to fig1 , the curve or line 80 ′ indicates the relationship between the force exerted by an sma wire on a body in one direction while the body id biased by a tension spring in the opposite direction as a function of the contraction or shortening thereof . the force increases proportionally with the contraction because of the proportional increase of the spring force of the spring when it is stretched by contraction of the wire . the line or curve 81 is symbolic of the curves corresponding to the relationship between contraction and force exerted for the embodiments of fig6 - 9 where the force in the wires 10 ′, 22 ′, 24 ′ and 31 ′, respectively is largest at the beginning of the contraction or shortening , and the contraction length of the wire is much larger because of the variation in the length of the moment arm or arms during the activating stroke as described above . in this manner , a high coefficient of mechanical efficiency is obtained because the longer contraction distance for a given input of energy to heat the sma wires gives an increased input of energy into the activating system . the actual curves 81 will not be linear but will reflect the varying rate of change of the moment arm or moment arms during the activating stroke . referring now to fig1 and fig1 - 12 , an actuator as shown in fig1 - 12 is applied to depress the plunger 94 of the infusion pump in fig3 thereof with the body 30 ′. the plunger 94 and body 30 ′ travel from 0 . 2 mm to 3 . 4 mm during the activating stroke of the body 30 ′. the force required to displace the plunger increases substantially proportionally from approx . 0 . 5 n to approx . 2n where the force increases steeply because the plunger has reached the end of its path . the force exerted by the spring 43 ′ on the body 30 ′ and thus the plunger 94 develops as an increasing parable - like curve corresponding to the curve for the tension or force in the sma wire 31 ′ necessary to retract the body 30 ′ against the leveraged force of the spring 43 ′. it is clear that the curves show that the actuator according to the invention can produce an increasing force as the displacement increases which is very advantageous in applications such as pumping with piston pumps where the force required increases with the distance traveled by the plunger . referring now to fig1 and 16 , the infusion pump unit 10 is very similar to the infusion pump unit 10 of fig2 , the sole difference being the location of the print cards 56 and 58 . the actuators of fig6 - 7 and 10 - 12 are utilized as the pump actuator 78 in fig1 and fig1 , respectively . the sma wires are supplied with electrical current for heating by the battery pack 60 . the sma actuators of fig6 - 7 and 10 - 12 are particularly well - suited for depressing the pump membrane 92 ( see fig3 ) as the force needed for this operation increases as the membrane is depressed and the fluid is pressed out into the conduit 98 . furthermore , the operation of the sma actuators is very quiet and the energy consumption is low while the space requirements are limited and the weight low . as an example the sma wire 31 ′ of the sma pump actuator of fig1 is supplied with 4 amperes during 4 milliseconds for each pump depression cycle , and the maximum number of depression cycles for the infusion pump is normally of the order of magnitude of 10 , 000 cycles / hour . referring now to fig1 and 18 , a fluid pumping system 60 ′ comprises a flexible tube 61 ′ extending through or between at least three clamping devices 62 ′- 64 ′ arranged adjacent one another . as illustrated in fig1 the clamping devices each comprise a pivotable jaw 65 ′ that is arranged to pivot towards a fixed jaw 66 ′ to flatten the tube 61 ′ extending between the jaws 65 ′ and 66 ′ and to pivot away from the fixed jaw 66 ′ to allow the tube 61 to return to its natural open shape . each of the pivotable jaws 65 ′ is attached to one end of a biasing means such as a tension spring 67 ′ the other end of which is attached to a fixed portion 68 ′ of a not shown frame . each of the pivotable jaws 65 ′ is furthermore attached to one end of a shape memory alloy wire 69 ′ the other end of which is attached to a fixed portion 70 ′ of said frame . the jaws 65 ′ are held in the closed position against jaw 66 ′ by the springs 67 ′ with the tube 61 ′ flattened while shortening or contraction of the sma wires 69 ′ opens the clamping devices by pivoting the jaws 65 ′ away from the fixed jaw 66 ′. the pumping action is achieved by the sequence indicated from left to right in fig1 , all three clamping devices 62 ′- 64 ′ being clamped shut in the first stage from the left with all three wires 69 ′ cooled to below the transition temperature and therefore slack . in the second stage from the left devices 63 ′ and 64 ′ are opened by heating the corresponding wires 69 ′ to above the transition temperature whereby fluid enters the thus opened portion of the tube 61 ′ as indicated by arrow r 5 . in the third stage from the left device 64 ′ is clamped shut by cooling the corresponding wire 69 ′ such that the corresponding spring 67 ′ can pull the corresponding jaw 65 ′ against the tube 61 ′ flattening it . hereby a portion of fluid is trapped a space 71 ′ in the tube 61 ′. in the fourth stage from the left , the device 61 ′ opens while the device 62 ′ closes whereby the portion of fluid trapped in the space 71 ′ is forced to flow in the direction of arrow r 6 whereafter device 61 ′ is closed and the first stage from the left has been re - established to begin a new pumping cycle . if more than three clamping devices are utilized , the pumping effect will be enhanced . this “ finger ” pump may substitute the pumping system in fig3 , 15 and 16 as well as the check valves 68 and 72 , and the pumping system ( tube 61 ′) may still be replaced without replacing the pump actuator by threading the tube 61 ′ from between the jaws 65 ′ and 66 ′. thereby an extremely cheap replaceable pump is provided . the pivoting of each of the jaws 65 ′ of the clamping devices 62 ′- 64 ′ towards the fixed jaw 66 ′ may be achieved by means of a body 15 ′ of the actuator in fig6 or a body 30 ′ of the actuator in fig5 . the tube 61 ′ may alternatively be flattened directly by said bodies 15 ′ or 30 ′ without the use of a clamping device . hereby , a particularly simple pumping system is achieved where the replacement of the tube 61 ′ is particularly simple . referring now to fig1 , a toothed wheel or gear 55 ″ is rotatably arranged on a power output shaft 56 ″ journalled in a not shown frame of the actuator motor . a body 57 ″ having an edge portion 58 ″ fitting between two neighbouring teeth 59 ″ of the gear 55 ″ is arranged in said frame displaceable between the position shown in full lines and the position shown in dotted lines . a shape memory alloy wire 60 ″ is at one end attached to the body 57 ″ and at the other end to a fixed portion 61 ″ of said frame . a coiled flat or wire spring 62 ″ integral with or connected to an arm 63 ″ is attached to said frame such that said arm 63 ″ may pivot around one end thereof opposite the free end thereof . the arm 63 ″ abuts a pin 64 ″ on the body 57 ″. a pawl 65 ″ is pivotably arranged on a pivot 66 ″ and is biased by a tension spring 67 ″ so as to constantly abut the rim of the gear 55 ″. in use , the gear 55 ″ is turned clock - wise by the body 57 ″ being displaced from the full line position to the dotted line position thereof by the force of the spring 62 ″ acting through the intermediate arm 63 ″ on the pin 64 ″, whereby the gear advances the width of one tooth 59 ″ and the pawl 65 ″ moves from locking engagement between one pair of teeth 59 ″ to a locking position between the next pair of teeth in the counter clock - wise direction . when the gear is locked against rotating counter clock - wise by the pawl 65 ″, the sma wire 60 ″ is heated and shortens whereby the body is displaced from the dotted line position to the full line position against the force of the intermediate arm 63 ″ on the pin 64 ″ thereby cocking the spring 62 ″. the lever or moment arm of the displacement force exerted by the intermediate arm in the clock - wise direction with respect to the pivoting point of the arm decreases as the body is displaced in the activating direction from the full line position to the dotted line position whereby the displacement force exerted by the intermediate arm 63 ″ on the pin 64 ″ increases . referring now to fig2 , a sma actuator motor similar to the motor of fig1 is shown , the spring 62 ″ and intermediate arm 63 ″ being substituted by a tension spring 68 ″ fastened to the body 57 ″ and to a fixed portion 69 ″ of a not shown frame . the operation of the motor of fig2 is very similar to the one in fig1 except that the displacement force exerted on the body 57 ″ by the spring 68 ″ is exerted directly and declines substantially proportionally with the distance of displacement . referring now to fig2 , an infusion pump 70 ″ particularly well suited for infusing insulin to a diabetes patient comprises a housing 71 ″ containing a display 72 ″, on / off buttons 73 ″, print cards 74 ″ and a not shown battery pack . these elements will not be described further as they are well known to those skilled in the art and may vary greatly within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended patent claims . a dispensing cartridge , ampoule or syringe 75 ″ is replaceably arranged in the housing 71 ″ and has an outlet nozzle 76 ″ for communication with a not shown conduit means connected to the patient for delivering the fluid , preferably insulin , in the syringe 75 ″ to said patient in a controlled manner either continuously or according to a pre - determined sequence . a piston 77 ″ is slidably arranged in the syringe 75 ″. a threaded rod or spindle 78 ″ abuts the piston 77 ″ for displacing it towards the outlet nozzle 76 ″ and meshes with a gear 79 ″ meshing with a pinion 80 ″ rotated by a shape memory alloy motor for displacing the spindle 78 ″ towards the outlet nozzle 76 ″. referring now to fig2 , the sma motor of fig2 is shown arranged and adapted for rotating the pinion 80 ″ such that rotation of the gear 55 ″ is geared down to a much slower rotation of the spindle 78 ″ so as to dispense the liquid or paste in the syringe 75 ″ in very small amounts . the sma motor of fig1 may very advantageously replace the motor of fig1 in the configuration of fig2 because of the reverse characteristic of the spring 62 ″ compared to the characteristic of spring 68 ″ as discussed in connection with fig1 and 14 . referring now to fig2 , a different embodiment of the piston operation is illustrated , a double headed piston 81 ″ being displaced by an arm 82 ″ mounted on a carrier block 83 ″ rotatably mounted on a spindle 84 ″ such that rotation of the spindle 83 ″ displaces the block 83 ″, arm 82 ″ and piston 81 ″ towards the nozzle 76 ″ for expelling liquid or paste in the syringe 75 ″. the spindle meshes with a gear 85 ″ meshing with a pinion 86 ″ attached to the shaft 56 ″ of the sma motor of fig1 , the spring 67 ″ not being shown for the sake of clarity . referring now to fig2 , a rack 70 ′″ is arranged displaceable in a not shown frame in the direction r 4 and a body 71 ′″ is arranged displaceable in the directions r 3 and r 4 as well as transversly thereto . a sma wire 72 ′″ is attached to the body 71 ′″ and to a fixed portion 73 ′″ of said frame . a coil spring 74 ′″ attached to said frame and integral with or connected to an intermediate arm 75 ′″ exerts a displacement force on a pin 76 ′″ of the body 71 ′″ through the intermediate arm 75 ′″ in a manner very similar to spring 62 ″ in fig1 . the rack 70 ′″ advances the distance of the width of one tooth 78 ′″ thereof in the direction r 4 for every cycle of heating and cooling of the sma wire 72 ′″ in the same way as gear 55 ″ in fig1 is rotated by wire 60 ″, spring 62 ″, intermediate arm 63 ″ and body 57 ″ in fig1 . the rack 70 ″ may be used to push the piston 77 ″ in fig2 or piston 81 ″ in fig2 by means of front end 77 ′″, to empty said cylinder of liquid or paste through an aperture in said cylinder . referring now to fig2 and 26 , an optional number of infusion pump units 10 with corresponding inlet tube 112 and infusion bag 114 may be aggregated in a system of individual dockiing stations 100 ′ arranged on a not shown standard hospital rack allowing horizontally adjustable location of the docking stations 100 ′ that such two or more stations may be aligned abutting one another as shown in fig2 . a power distribution and computer connection box 101 ′ having connections 102 ′ to a power source and a computer is also adapted for abutting a docking station 100 ′ in aligned configuration therewith . the distribution box 101 ′ has a number of female contact plugs 103 ′ for mating with corresponding , not shown , male contact plugs in a lateral wall of a docking station 100 ′. a diode 101 a ′ indicates whether the distribution box is functioning or not . each docking station has a number of female contact plugs 104 ′ in the opposite lateral wall identical to contact plugs 103 ′ for mating with said not shown male contact plugs of an adjacent docking station 100 ′. the female and male contact plugs distribute electrical energy to the individual docking station and to the individual infusion pumps 10 docked in the docking stations 100 ′ via female contact plugs 105 ′ mating with not shown corresponding male contact plugs in the bottom of each infusion pump 10 . each infusion pump 10 is carried by a carrying frame 106 ′ between arms 107 ′ thereof and supported on a bottom platform 108 ′ thereof . a hook 109 ′ is provided on the carrying frame 106 ′ for hooking into an aperture 110 ′ of the infusion bag 114 . the frame 106 furthermore has a top aperture 111 ′ for receiving a hook on a bed or wheel chair when the pump 10 and bag 114 are to be removed from the docking station 100 ′ for following a patient away from the fixed docking station array . each docking station 100 ′ is provided with three diodes 112 ′ for indicating status of the docking station and the pump as regards power supply , pumping status and fluid supply or other parameters desired monitored . each docking station furthermore has two opposed grooves for slidingly receiving the lateral edges of a frame 106 ′. the system of fig2 affords great flexibiity as to number of infusion pumps per patient and as regards mode of transport together with the patient either on the frame 106 ′ or removed therefrom .

0Human Necessities

although making and using various embodiments are discussed in detail below , it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many inventive concepts that may be embodied in a wide variety of contexts . the specific aspects and embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of ways to make and use the invention , and do not limit the scope of the invention . in the description which follows like parts may be marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals , respectively . an embodiment of a method of signal processing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 . ekg measurements are recorded during sleep . the measurements are clipped to 900 seconds 10 . lead i of each ekg signal clip is used to calculate the r - r interval , heart rate , the r - r interval discrete time series is calculated for each clip 20 . the resultant time series is evenly resampled at 10 hz using cubic spline interpolation 30 . short - time discrete fourier transform is performed on each 10 hz sampled data clip generating stdft respective matrices 40 . each stdft matrix is encoded into a grey - level image 50 . a set of nine textural features is calculated for each encoded image 60 . statistical analysis was performed on each of the nine features across the normal and osa patient classes 70 . rules were formulated based on the statistical analysis and the independence of the features 80 . rules were employed in a fuzzy logic system in which the features of each clip were used as inputs 90 . each of the steps illustrated in fig1 will be described in greater detail with reference to a specific example . in this example , the data used to formulate and test the method of signal processing and analysis was previously collected and processed by behbehani , et al . ( behbehani , et al ., conference proceedings , 26th annual international conference of the ieee embs 2004 , pp . 3881 - 3884 ). twelve ( 12 ) normal ( nor ) subject patients were represented in this example . none of them had any known history of sleep disorder breathing , osa , or otherwise . fourteen ( 14 ) patients , previously diagnosed with osa at an accredited sleep evaluation facility were also represented . during the mentioned study , a certified sleep expert , blind to the study , scored sleep disorder breathing events for all subjects , and apnea / hypopnea ( osa / osh ) events were qualitatively described . ekg recordings were made on the 26 individuals , step 10 of fig1 and divided into 900 second clips . finding the r - peaks in the ekg signal defines a discrete time series from which heart rate can be calculated 20 . the overall mean heart rate , r - peak detection error , for the acquired data ( 1 . 78 million beats ) was 1 % ( s . vijendra , master &# 39 ; s thesis , dept . of biomedical engineering , university of texas at arlington , arlington , tex ., 2003 ). from the r - peak detection , each r - peak can be associated with a single value that corresponds to the time interval between that peak and the peak before it . this clearly results in a discrete time series that is unevenly sampled . this time series is evenly resampled at 10 hz with cubic spline interpolation 30 , yielding a 9000 - point heart rate variability ( hrv ) series . there were 198 usable 900 - second clips ; 92 normal clips from nor subjects and 106 event clips from osa subjects . short - time discrete fourier transform ( stdft ) was performed on the hrv equally - spaced discrete time series 40 . a hanning window was used with n = 300 , resulting in 9000 point in time and 1250 in frequency from 0 to 5 hz . since the study of behbehani et al . showed the frequency range of 0 to 0 . 5 hz to be the most promising , only the lower 125 rows of data were included in the stdft matrix . in order to decrease the computational load , without effecting the resolution , the resulting matrix is sampled at every n = 4 points . the stdft complex matrix is reduced to 2250 discrete temporal columns by 125 discrete frequency rows 40 . each clip is now in the form of a 125 × 2250 point complex matrix . each of the 198 complex matrices is then encoded into four different grey - scale images 50 . these matrices are handled as complex valued function of two variables i and j . this allows for conventional matrix processing methods to be applied , or for these matrices to be processed as pictorial images , after converting the complex values of the matrices to grey - level encoded values . note , that color scale values could be used in an alternate embodiment . it is this conversion that enables susbsequent classification ( osa identification in the present example ) to be accurately performed on stdft transformed data clips extracted from temporal signals . in the present example , the temporal signal is heart rate variability , derived from an ekg . however , the same conversion method can be applied to alternate ekg derivations and / or alternate physiological signals . four different grey - scale encoding methods , yielding 4 different images with different features were performed for each of the 198 clips . a first grey scale encoding method , magnitude encoding with 16 grey levels ( n g = 16 ) is described as follows . for encoding purposes , the global maximum and minimum magnitude values of the entire matrix i 125 × 2250 were found . the entire matrix was normalized with respect to i ( m , n ) max . then all values were quantized to 16 equally - spaced bins , with bin length defined as : the quantized 16 - gray - level matrix , i g16 ( m , n ), was found using the following rule : a second grey - scale encoding method , magnitude encoding with 32 gray levels ( n g = 32 ) provides higher resolution and is described as follows . the entire matrix was normalized with respect to i ( m , n ) max . then all values were quantized to 32 equally - spaced bins , with bin length defined as : the quantized 32 - gray - level matrix , i g32 ( m , n ), was found using the following rule : a third grey - scale encoding method , ln ( magnitude ) encoding with 16 gray levels ( n g = 16 ) is very sensitive to the minimum and maximum values . taking the natural logarithm of the magnitude of i ( m , n ) will suppress the global maximum , and give rise to the details of the local maxima . the global maximum and minimum intensity values of the entire matrix i 125 × 2250 were found . the entire matrix was normalized with respect to i ( m , n ) max . then all values were quantized to 16 equally - spaced bins , where each bin &# 39 ; s length is equal to : the quantized 16 - gray - level matrix , i gln16 ( m , n ), was found using the following rule : a fourth grey - scale encoding method quantized the image into unequally spaced bins . the first , second , and third encoding methods used equal spaced gray - level bins . the images according to the fourth encoding method are based on quantizing the matrix into unequally spaced bins , where the length of the bin is inversely proportional to the histogramic distribution of the i ( m , n ) magnitude values . in other words , the higher the occurrence of a certain range of values in the matrix i ( m , n ) is , the smaller the bin size that will contain them . hence , values with similar characteristics with be grouped together , and the effect of extremely high or extremely low values will be nullified . this means that all ng grey levels will have equal distribution in the image . fig2 illustrates the binning process with this encoding scheme for an example of four gray scales , ng = 4 . the unequal bin lengths , b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , and b 4 are due to the unequal intensity distribution 210 , which is a function of the image itself . the histogram of the absolute matrix values clearly shows lower intensities occur more frequently . no normalization is required for this histogram binning encoding method . bin thresholds may be chosen so that ratio of value occurrences within the bin to the overall value occurrences for all bins is fixed . this value is equal to the quantized 16 - gray - level matrix , i ghis16 ( m , n ), was found using the following rule : if ( i ( m , n )⊂ bin # i ) i ghis16 ( m , n )= i , for 0 ≦ i ≦ 15 , 1 ≦ m ≦ 125 , 1 ≦ n ≦ 2250 . an example intensity image histogram is shown in fig2 . choosing n g = 4 , the values falling within bin b 1 will have a quantized value of i = 0 ( black ). the values falling within bin b 2 will have a quantized value of i = 1 , which corresponds to a 66 %- gray shade . the values falling within bin b 3 will have a quantized value of i = 2 ( 33 %- gray ), and finally the trailing tail of intensity values falling within bin b 4 will have a quantized value of i = 3 ( white ). fig3 a - d depict exemplary encoded images of the same clip , each image encoded by one of the four different encoding methods described above . fig3 a shows the encoded image of the complex stdft matrix of clip 1 from subject nor ( 1 ), using magnitude encoding with 16 grey levels ( n g = 16 ). fig3 b shows the encoded image of the same complex stdft matrix of clip 1 from subject nor ( 1 ), using magnitude encoding with 32 grey levels ( n g = 32 ). fig3 c shows the encoded image of the same complex stdft matrix of the same clip 1 from subject nor ( 1 ), using ln ( magnitude ) encoding with 16 gray levels ( n g = 16 ). and fig3 d shows the encoded image of the stdft matrix , also from normal subject 1 , clip 1 of 198 . at this point in the signal processing process , there are 4 × 198 images , four images for each clip 50 , shown in fig1 . each one of a respective four images encoded by applying a different grey - level encoding method to the stdft complex matrix . armed with these image sets , the process of analyzing the images and classifying the images , for example nor or osa , based on statistical properties of the images is described . textural features for these images will be calculated for subsequent statistical analysis ( haralick et al ., ieee transactions on systems , man , and cybernetics 1972 , 3 ( 6 ), pp . 610 - 619 ). gray level co - occurrence matrices ( glcm ) are ng × ng symmetric matrices that contain the count of paired i and j gray levels separated by a certain distance , d , and angle , θ ( haralick et al ). from these counts , glcms , textural features are calculated 60 , as shown in fig1 . glcms were originally developed to sort the massive number of satellite images in the early 1970 &# 39 ; s ( haralick et al ). for images with square pixels , there are four conventional values for θ that dictate the neighborhood relationship of any two paired pixels , 0 °, 45 °, 90 °, and 135 °. a single image can produce numerous different glcms , depending on the choice of parameters , d and θ . parameter d , distance , is measured in pixel count , for example 3 pixels to the left is 3 pixels in the 0 ° direction . calculating glcms imposes a high computational load . in the example of four images for each of the 198 clips , each image was segment into 18 square manageable segments of 125 × 125 pixels ( where 18 × 125 = 2250 , the original image size ). at 125 pixels , each segment represents 50 seconds in length . two half segments , 64 × 125 , were made for the lower frequencies which contained high power densities . the last segment of each 18 segments per image was discarded . all 17 125 × 125 segments coming from one image clip will be converted into a glcm separately , and their results will be averaged to give a mean value glcm for that one image . similarly glcms of the two half segments will be averaged to yield a mean glcm for that one image . normalized glcms ( nglcm ) are glcms normalized to the total number of counted pairs , n p . n p is function of image size , the orientation θ , and the distance d . for an image with size i p × i p pixels , n p is given according to the equations below . n p = 2 ·( i p ×( i p − d )) for θ = 0 ° and 90 °, and n p = 2 ·(( i p − d )×( i p − d )) for θ = 45 ° and 135 °. still referring to the exemplary embodiment of 198 useable clips , a total 10 mean value glcms were calculated per clip . the distribution of 10 mean glcms was not uniformly distributed across the four grey scale images for each clip . the mean value glcm distribution across images and corresponding parameters , d and θ , are summarized below . for images constructed using magnitude encoding with 16 grey levels ( n g = 16 ), shown for example in fig3 a , the following mean glcms were calculated : for images constructed using magnitude encoding with 32 grey levels ( n g = 32 ), shown for example in fig3 b , the following mean glcms were calculated : for images constructed using ln ( magnitude ) encoding with 16 gray levels ( n g = 16 ), shown for example in fig3 c , the following mean glcms were calculated : for images constructed using histogram binning ( n g = 16 ), shown for example in fig3 d , the following mean glcm was calculated : for the example comprising 198 clips , nine textural features were calculated from the glcms ( haralick et al ). for all the subsequent measures , the following definitions are applicable : m ( i , j ) is the i , j element of the grey level co - occurrence matrix . since m is symmetric , m ( i , j )= m ( j , i ). n g is the number of grey levels used in the image . the nine textural features are defined and calculated as provided below . a total of 90 average features is calculated for each of the 198 clips , 9 for each of the 10 glcms . feature selection to enable discrimination between a first and second class , nor and osa , is evaluated using statistical analysis of the features 70 , as shown in fig1 . suitable textural feature selection can be based on , for example , a gap between means with corresponding small standard deviations . in the particular example of 198 clips , features with a good first degree separation , large mean gap between nor and osa and small spread about respective means , were chosen as the features for class discrimination ( nor or osa ) 80 , as shown in fig1 . such features can , for example , be identified by a minimum deviation - to - mean ratio . fig5 illustrates the signal processing steps on an ekg clip , according to the example of 198 clips . the number of clips , the number of encoded images ( four shown ), and the number of glcms , normalized or not , can vary in alternate embodiments consistent with the present invention . fuzzy logic systems have been used in previous studies to distinguish , classify , between inputs with overlapping input values ( j . m . mendel , “ uncertain rule - based fuzzy logic systems : introduction and new directions ”, prentice hall , n . j ., 2001 ). membership functions ( mfs ), used in fuzzy logic systems , assign a membership degree between 0 ( low ) and 1 ( high ) to the range of inputs . sigmoid mfs were chosen for the example of 198 clips , where , a sigmoidal function can be written as : in the exemplary embodiment of 198 clips , a singleton fuzzy system was employed . the system is made up of input fuzzifier , rule - fed inference engine , and a defuzzifier . the values of the selected features are used as inputs . each value is given two membership degrees ( mds ); nor and osa . the mds are allocated using the sigmoidal mfs defined above . initial c l and c h values are set to the means of lower and higher nor and osa means , respectively . initial a l and a h values are set to 1 . these md values are then trained to find best fitting mfs that give optimum classification results . exemplary formulation of fuzzy rules is described in reference to table 1 , which summarizes statistical means of a given nglcm , for correlation , inverse difference , and inverse difference momentum . with the example as shown in table 1 , there are 2 3 = 8 fuzzy rules . example fuzzy rules based on table 1 would include : ( a ) if cor is low and ind is low and idm is high then clip is nor ; and ( b ) if cor is high and ind is high and idm is low then clip is osa . because all selected features are exclusively disjoint , in which each feature independently describes the image , rule reduction may be applied . the additional 2 × 3 = 6 rules useful with the inference engine for classifying nglcm - x include : ( a ) if cor is low then clip is nor ; ( b ) if cor is high then clip is osa ; ( c ) if ind is low then clip is nor ; ( d ) if ind is high then clip is osa ; ( e ) if idm is high then clip is nor ; ( f ) if idm is low then clip is osa . for deffuzification , height defuzzification was used . a value of “ 1 ” was assigned to osa clip diagnosis and “− 1 ” to nor clip diagnosis . a crisp decision boundary was set at “ 0 .” in the exemplary embodiment of 198 clips , each fuzzy logic system ( fls ) was recursively trained , using described methods known to one of ordinary skill ( such as that described by mendel ( 2001 ) in “ uncertain rule - based fuzzy logic systems : introduction and new direction ,” prentice hall , n . j .). using the statistical significant difference between nor and osa extracted textural features as a feature selection method , it was found that for the nglcms of table 1 , textural features cor , ind , and idm showed significant differences and had a lowest spread to mean ratio . these features were inputs to a fuzzy logic system ( fls ) layer . each fls was trained with the corresponding 3 features from each nglcm . in another words , fls - 1 was trained using features cor 1 , ind 1 , and idm 1 , and so on through fls - 10 , being trained using cor 10 , ind 10 , and idm 10 . in an iteration , 92 nor clips and 106 osa clips were randomly divided into training set and matching set : 132 clips for training and 66 for testing . mean of the training set was used as initial values for c l and c h . the set was classified and output of flss were acquired and combined using weighed majority rule , as shown table 2 . after training , data were combined using weighed majority rule to find a classification for each clip . table 2 shows a representative example of such data for 6 randomly chosen clips , including classification and final decision . nor clips are marked as (− 1 ) and osa are marked as ( 1 ). each fls corresponds to the texture values from a given glcm , recall there are 10 glcms per clip in the 198 clip example . in equations ( 19 ) to ( 21 ), osa c is the number of correctly detected osa clips and nor c is the number of correctly detected nor clips . a summary of sensitivity , specificity and accuracy for the training set and testing set in the example of 198 clips is depicted in table 3 . as can be seen from the results in table 3 , the system in accordance with this invention has good sensitivity . in the methods in accordance with the present invention of a combination of time and frequency domains in one plot ( e . g ., image ) are used to quantitatively analyze signal recording , the analysis relying on a classification scheme described herein . image processing and pattern recognition schemes and classifiers improve not only the detection rate of one or more particular signals , but are also reliable , effective , and efficient . the methods in accordance with this invention compare well to alternative conventional temporal or spectral methods being practiced . a second classifier system can be developed according to the present invention . for example , in accordance with another exemplary embodiment , a multilayer perceptron network ( mlp ) is employed . an mlp is a form of a feed - forward neural network ( nn ). a feed - forward nn is does not have any of its frontward layer outputs feeding back into a previous layer &# 39 ; s input . mlps have been shown to be successfully employed in image classifier applications . in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a three layer mlp was used , which has an input layer , hidden layer and an output layer . the input layer has a number of neurons ( nodes ) equal to the input vector length . the output layer consists of one neuron , accounting for a possibility of only 2 classes to be classified . the number of units in the hidden layer ( n h ) is adjustable and effects classification accuracy . besides changing the number of hidden units , each layer of a mlp has two parameters that are trained to achieve maximum detection : node transfer function and weight vector . both input and output layers use linear transfer functions ( tf ) for each neuron . this is achieved using matlab &# 39 ; s linear tf purelin ; matlab is a programming language by the mathworks , inc ., ( the mathworks , inc ., natick , mass ., u . s . a ). the hidden layer , on the other hand , uses a hyperbolic tangent sigmoid function . matlab &# 39 ; s implementation of this tf is : a mlp can be created , for example , using the newff function in the neural network toolbox in matlab , the results of two mlps that were developed to classify the clips based on two different sets of inputs drawn from the nine features and 10 glcms , described above are describe below . all glcms are normalized ( nglcm ) for the mlp classifier system . training of a mlp , in accordance with this invention is achieved by fitting the network parameters to the desired output using bp . this step is analogous to the training of the fls . the accuracy of the mlp system is not directly correlated to the number of training epochs , rather after an optimum n ep , the accuracy of the system may actually decline with additional training epochs . using a selected feature set , used as input vectors to the mlp , the 198 clips are randomly assigned into two groups ; training and testing , with a 2 : 1 ratio . with total of 198 clips , this is translated to 132 clips for training , and the remaining 66 for testing and validation . then , the optimum number of hidden units ( n h ) and training epochs ( n ep ) are found as a pair using the method further described below . for each possible n h , the network is trained using the training set with a given number of epochs , n ep , and then the weights and biases parameters of the network are fixed in order to run the test set and calculate the testing accuracy of the network . once accuracies are stored for a first given n ep , the mlp is then trained for the next n ep increment . the number of n ep s ranged from 200 to 5000 in accordance with this invention . this allows for studying the average performance of the mlp at that given n h . the one - step - secant back propagation method was used for training the mlp . optimum pairs for of hidden units n h and training epochs n ep are determined from accuracy calculations in a 50 - run monte carlo simulation . once these pairs are chosen for each of the two mlps at hand , 1000 - run monte - carlo simulations are performed to study the performance of the detector mlps . tables 4 and 5 show the accuracies calculated during the optimization process , finding the best n h , n ep pair . the table below summarizes the accuracies of n eps for a given n h . values shown in table 4 are per each n h and n ep pair for an mlp with 30 inputs , these 30 inputs are derived from the 3 textural features selected and the 10 nglcms as trained and tested for the exemplary fls system , described above . after examining all potential testing accuracies for the n h and n ep pairs in table 4 , n h = 45 with n ep = 200 were chosen for subsequent training and testing at 1000 monte carlo runs . table 5 shows the results of the average performance using 17 selected inputs to the mlp network , these 17 inputs are also drawn from the 198 clips , nine features and 10 glcms described above . after examining all promising n h and n ep pairs in table 5 , n h = 8 with n ep = 1800 were chosen for the 1000 monte carlo run . a summary of sensitivity , specificity , and accuracy for the training set and testing set in the example of 198 clips for the mlp systems using three textural features of the fls system , 30 inputs , and using 17 selected features as described above , are provided in tables 6 and 7 , respectively . in yet another embodiment , 90 inputs were used to train and test an mlp system as described above . the 90 inputs were obtained from the 10 glcms , normalized , and all nine textural features calculated from the glcms , all originating from the 198 clips . after examining all potentially promising n h and n ep pairs in table 3 . 12 that yielded the best validation accuracy , n h = 8 with n ep = 1800 were chosen . the results are provided below . as such , images derived from clips , such as those represented in fig3 and 5 may be evaluated for signal patterning . images depicting variations in power distribution ( non - uniformity ) may be further focused . for example , images of fig3 were focused to a low frequency range . one or more encoding schemes that rely on contrast level encoding are used to further enhance the distribution of signal recordings in the image . in one example , four different grey - scale shadings were used to represent each point in the plot . the encodings are translated into differences in one or more extracted textural features . the textural features selection method employs a first degree statistical analysis yielding features that are sufficient to produce useful , quantitative results which compare well with current qualitative analyses . detection rates may also rely on alternative techniques than those described , for example , the mlp system described herein . a method of processing , analyzing and training a fuzzy logic system or an mlp system to classify signals as between two classes is readily apparent from the detailed description above . beginning with ekg signals from known classes , a fuzzy logic system or an mlp system can be trained to classify unkown records into the two known classes . examples of classes include : normal signals and congestive heart failure signals ; normal and long q - t interval signals ; or normal signals and osh . a key step in the signal processing from which textural features are extracted is the calculation of glcms from stdft matrices . not all people with suspected sleep apnea require medical tests . expensive diagnostic efforts are probably not required for individuals who have no other health risk factors and whose suspected apnea does not affect their quality of life or safety on the road . however , patients with impaired lifestyles and other medical complications need to be screened for sleep apnea . non - invasive , minimally intrusive , methods of detecting sleep apnea are needed . the present invention provides a method for such diagnosis . additional objects , advantages and novel features of the invention as set forth in the description , will be apparent to one skilled in the art after reading the foregoing detailed description or may be learned by practice of the invention . the objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out here .

0Human Necessities

fig1 is a cross - sectional view illustrating a laminated chip 101 . as illustrated in fig1 , the laminated chip 101 includes semiconductor chips 111 and 121 , and the semiconductor chips 111 and 121 are stacked and mounted on a wiring board 102 . the semiconductor chips 111 and 121 are bonded with an adhesive agent 103 placed between the semiconductor chips 111 and 121 . in the semiconductor chip 111 , tsvs 113 penetrating through a substrate 112 are formed around a circuit 114 . the semiconductor chip 111 is mounted on the wiring board 102 with a surface ( circuit side ) of the chip on which the circuit 114 is formed facing down . solder balls 115 a and 115 b are formed on the circuit side of the semiconductor chip 111 . electrical power is supplied to the circuit 114 of the semiconductor chip 111 from the wiring board 102 through the solder balls 115 a . accordingly , in the lower semiconductor chip 111 , electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 102 to the semiconductor chip 111 using a power feeding path in a vertical direction . a wiring layer 116 is formed on the opposite side of the circuit side of the substrate 112 . the semiconductor chip 121 includes a substrate 122 and a circuit 123 . the semiconductor chip 121 is placed above the semiconductor chip 111 with a surface ( circuit side ) of the substrate 122 on which the circuit 123 is formed facing down . a wiring layer 124 is formed on the circuit side of the substrate 122 . electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 102 to the circuit 123 of the semiconductor chip 121 through the solder balls 115 b , the tsvs 113 , the wiring layer 116 , a connecting part 104 , and the wiring layer 124 . accordingly , in the upper semiconductor chip 121 , electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 102 to the semiconductor chip 121 using power feeding paths in a vertical direction and a lateral direction . the wiring layers 116 and 124 are thin , and wiring lines within the wiring layers 116 and 124 are formed from copper foil having a thickness of several micrometers . the wiring lines within the wiring layers 116 and 124 therefore have large resistance values . accordingly , electrical power supply to the semiconductor chip 121 is associated with a large voltage drop ( power drop ) in the power feeding path in the lateral direction . hereinafter , a laminated chip according to embodiments and a laminated chip manufacturing method will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . the laminated chip and the laminated chip manufacturing method to be discussed hereinafter are merely illustrative , and therefore , the laminated chip and the laminated chip manufacturing method are not limited to configurations to be described hereinafter . a laminated chip 1 according to a first embodiment will be described . fig1 is a cross - sectional view illustrating the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . the laminated chip 1 includes semiconductor chips 11 and 21 and an intermediate layer 31 . the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are stacked and mounted on a wiring board ( printed circuit board ) 2 . the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are , for example , logic chips such as lsi ( large scale integration ) devices . the semiconductor chip 11 is one example of a first chip . the semiconductor chip 21 is one example of a second chip . the intermediate layer 31 is disposed between the semiconductor chip 11 and the semiconductor chip 21 . the intermediate layer 31 is one example of a layer . the intermediate layer 31 includes an adhesive agent 32 and a connecting part 33 . the semiconductor chip 11 includes a semiconductor substrate 12 , a circuit 13 , tsvs 14 and a wiring layer ( rewiring layer ) 15 . the semiconductor substrate 12 is , for example , a silicon substrate . the circuit 13 is formed on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . accordingly , the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 is the surface ( circuit side ) of the semiconductor substrate 12 on which the circuit 13 is formed . the circuit 13 is formed in a central portion of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . the tsvs 14 penetrate through the semiconductor substrate 12 . the tsv 14 are formed in the semiconductor substrate 12 by , for example , forming holes in the semiconductor substrate 12 by means of etching and performing copper plating on the side surfaces of the holes . the tsvs 14 are formed around the circuit 13 in the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 12 . one end of each tsv 14 is exposed out of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 , whereas the other end of the tsv 14 is exposed out of the second surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . the second surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 is a surface on the opposite side of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . the wiring layer 15 is formed on the second surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . the wiring layer 15 is one example of a first wiring layer . the semiconductor chip 11 is mounted on the wiring board 2 with the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 facing down . pluralities of solder balls 16 a and 16 b are formed on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 2 to the circuit 13 of the semiconductor chip 11 through the solder balls 16 a . accordingly , electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 2 to the semiconductor chip 11 using a power feeding path ( electrically - conducting path ) in a vertical direction ( thickness - direction ) in the lower semiconductor chip 11 . underfill resin 19 is formed between the semiconductor chip 11 and the wiring board 2 . the semiconductor chip 21 includes a semiconductor substrate 22 , a circuit 23 and a wiring layer ( rewiring layer ) 24 . the semiconductor substrate 22 is , for example , a silicon substrate . the circuit 23 and the wiring layer 24 are formed on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate 22 . accordingly , the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 22 is the surface ( circuit side ) of the semiconductor substrate 22 on which the circuit 23 is formed . the circuit 23 is formed in a central portion of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 22 . the semiconductor chip 21 is placed above the semiconductor chip 11 with the first surface of the semiconductor substrate 22 facing down . the wiring layer 24 is one example of a second wiring layer . electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 2 to the circuit 23 of the semiconductor chip 21 through the solder balls 16 b , the tsvs 14 , the wiring layer 15 , the connecting part 33 , and the wiring layer 24 . accordingly , electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 2 to the semiconductor chip 21 using power feeding paths in a vertical direction ( thickness - direction ) and a lateral direction ( planar - direction ) in the lower semiconductor chip 21 . fig2 is an enlarged cross - sectional view of the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment , illustrating details on the intermediate layer 31 . the intermediate layer 31 includes an adhesive agent 32 and the connecting part 33 . the adhesive agent 32 bonds the semiconductor chip 11 and the semiconductor chip 21 . the adhesive agent 32 also bonds the wiring layers 15 and 24 . the connecting part 33 includes a plurality of microbumps 34 , joining solder 35 , and a plurality of microbumps 36 . the microbumps 34 are connected to the wiring layer 15 , whereas the microbumps 36 are connected to the wiring layer 24 . each microbump 34 is one example of a first bump . the joining solder 35 is one example of solder . each microbump 36 is one example of a second bump . the joining solder 35 has contact with the upper surfaces of the microbumps 34 and with the upper surfaces of the microbumps 36 . consequently , the microbumps 34 and 36 disposed so as to face each other are joined together with the joining solder 35 . the upper surface of each microbump 34 is a surface on the opposite side of the surface ( lower surface ) thereof in contact with the wiring layer 15 . likewise , the upper surface of each microbump 36 is a surface on the opposite side of the surface ( lower surface ) thereof in contact with the wiring layer 24 . the material of the microbumps 34 and 36 is , for example , cu ( copper ). the material of the joining solder 35 is , for example , sn ( tin ). the wiring layer 15 includes resin 17 and a wiring line 18 . the resin 17 covers the wiring line 18 . the material of the wiring line 18 is , for example , cu . the tsv 14 is electrically connected to a microbump 34 through the wiring line 18 . the wiring layer 24 includes resin 25 and a wiring line 26 . the resin 25 covers the wiring line 26 . the circuit 23 is electrically connected to a microbump 36 through the wiring line 26 . the joining solder 35 is connected ( joined ) to the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 . the joining solder 35 electrically connects the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 . that is , the joining solder 35 electrically connects the microbumps 34 and the microbumps 36 disposed so as to face each other . in addition , the joining solder 35 electrically connects adjacent microbumps 34 . yet additionally , the joining solder 35 electrically connects adjacent microbumps 36 . electrical power is supplied from the wiring board 2 to the circuit 23 through the solder balls 16 b , the tsvs 14 , the wiring line 18 , the microbumps 34 , the joining solder 35 , the microbumps 36 , and the wiring line 26 . the resistance value of cu is 1 . 7 × 10 − 8 ( ω · m ), whereas the resistance value of sn is 1 . 1 × 10 − 7 ( ω · m ). accordingly , the thickness of the joining solder 35 is preferably approximately 6 . 7 times the thickness of the wiring lines 18 and 26 , or larger . for example , when the thickness of the wiring lines 18 and 26 is 1 . 5 μm , then the thickness of the joining solder 35 is preferably 10 μm or larger . the thickness of the joining solder 35 is the distance between the microbumps 34 and the microbumps 36 disposed so as to face each other . in the structural example of the laminated chip 1 illustrated in fig2 , the wiring line 26 is disposed on one microbump 36 . without limitation to the structural example of the laminated chip 1 illustrated in fig2 , the wiring line 26 may be disposed on a plurality of microbumps 36 , as in the structural example of the laminated chip 1 illustrated in fig3 . in this case , the wiring line 26 electrically connects adjacent microbumps 36 . according to the laminated chip 1 in accordance with the first embodiment , the microbumps 34 and 36 , adjacent microbumps 34 , and adjacent microbumps 36 are electrically connected , respectively , through the joining solder 35 . consequently , the voltage drop of a power feeding path in a lateral direction is suppressed in electrical power supply from the wiring board 2 to the semiconductor chip 21 , thus reducing a voltage drop in electrical power supply to the semiconductor chip 21 . a description will be made of a method for manufacturing the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . fig4 a and 4b are manufacturing process diagrams of the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . fig4 a is a partial cross - sectional view of the semiconductor chip 11 , whereas fig4 b is a partial top view of the semiconductor chip 11 . first , the semiconductor chip 11 is prepared . next , the wiring layer 15 is formed on the second surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 , thereby forming the wiring layer 15 in the semiconductor chip 11 . subsequently , a plurality of microbumps 34 are disposed on the wiring layer 15 , and the wiring line 18 and the plurality of microbumps 34 are joined together , thereby connecting the plurality of microbumps 34 to the wiring layer 15 . next , the adhesive agent 32 a is formed ( applied ) on the wiring layer 15 . as illustrated in fig4 a and 4b , the adhesive agent 32 a is formed on the wiring layer 15 , so that the microbumps 34 are exposed out of the adhesive agent 32 a . when the adhesive agent 32 a is a thermosetting insulating film , the adhesive agent 32 a is heated and applied onto the wiring layer 15 . fig5 a and 5b are manufacturing process diagrams of the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . fig5 a is a cross - sectional view of the semiconductor chip 11 , whereas fig5 b is a top view of the semiconductor chip 11 . as illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , the joining solder 35 a is supplied from a dispenser 41 to form ( apply ) the joining solder 35 a on the adhesive agent 32 a and the plurality of microbumps 34 . in this case , the joining solder 35 a is formed on a portion of the adhesive agent 32 a between adjacent microbumps 34 and on a plurality of microbumps 34 exposed out of the adhesive agent 32 a . accordingly , the joining solder 35 a is formed on the plurality of microbumps 34 lining up in a predetermined direction . the predetermined direction is , for example , a direction toward the central portion from the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip 11 ( or the semiconductor substrate 12 ). fig6 is a manufacturing process diagram of the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . as illustrated in fig6 , the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are aligned with each other . in this case , the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are disposed so that the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 face each other . the semiconductor chip 21 is processed in the same way as the semiconductor chip 11 . that is , the wiring layer 24 is formed on the semiconductor chip 21 . subsequently , a plurality of microbumps 36 are connected to the wiring layer 24 . next , an adhesive agent 32 b is formed ( applied ) to the wiring layer 24 . subsequently , the joining solder 35 b is formed on the adhesive agent 32 b and the plurality of microbumps 36 . in this case , the joining solder 35 b is formed on a portion of the adhesive agent 32 b between adjacent microbumps 36 and on a plurality of microbumps 36 exposed out of the adhesive agent 32 b . accordingly , the joining solder 35 b is formed on the plurality of microbumps 36 lining up in a predetermined direction . the predetermined direction is , for example , a direction toward the central portion from the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip 21 ( or the semiconductor substrate 22 ). fig7 is a manufacturing process diagram of the laminated chip 1 according to the first embodiment . as illustrated in fig7 , the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side are brought into contact with each other . likewise , the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side are brought into contact with each other . next , a heating treatment is performed to attach the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side to each other and join together the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side . a pressurization treatment may be performed along with the heating treatment . the pressurization treatment is a treatment used to press the semiconductor chip 11 against the semiconductor chip 21 , or press the semiconductor chip 21 against the semiconductor chip 11 . by attaching the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side to each other , a combined adhesive agent 32 is formed between the wiring layers 15 and 24 . this process forms the adhesive agent 32 for bonding the wiring layers 15 and 24 . by joining together the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side , combined joining solder 35 is formed between the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 . a laminated chip 1 according to a second embodiment will be described . constituent elements the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and characters and will not be explained again . fig8 is an enlarged cross - sectional view of the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment , illustrating details on the intermediate layer 31 . the joining solder 35 covers the microbumps 34 and 36 . the joining solder 35 is buried between adjacent microbumps 34 and between adjacent microbumps 36 . the joining solder 35 may cover the entire upper and side surfaces of the microbumps 34 or parts of the upper and side surfaces of the microbumps 34 . the joining solder 35 may cover the entire upper and side surfaces of the microbumps 36 or parts of the upper and side surfaces of the microbumps 36 . the wiring line 26 may be disposed on the plurality of microbumps 34 as in the first embodiment . in this case , the wiring line 26 electrically connects adjacent microbumps 36 . the joining solder 35 has a first thickness and a second thickness . the first thickness of the joining solder 35 is the distance between the microbumps 34 and 36 disposed so as to face each other . the second thickness of the joining solder 35 is the distance between the wiring layers 15 and 24 . in the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment , the joining solder 35 is buried between adjacent microbumps 34 and between adjacent microbumps 36 . since the second thickness of the joining solder 35 is larger than the first thickness thereof , the resistance value of the joining solder 35 is reduced . in addition , the microbumps 34 and 36 are used as parts of a lateral power feeding path in electrical power supply from the wiring board 2 to the semiconductor chip 21 . consequently , the voltage drop of the lateral power feeding path is further suppressed in electrical power supply from the wiring board 2 to the semiconductor chip 21 , thus further reducing the voltage drop in electrical power supply to the semiconductor chip 21 . for example , when the second thickness of the joining solder 35 is approximately 30 μm , then a portion of the joining solder 35 having the second thickness corresponds to a cu wiring line having a thickness of approximately 4 . 5 μm . a description will be made of a method for manufacturing the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment . fig9 a and 9b are manufacturing process diagrams of the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment . fig9 a is a partial cross - sectional view of the semiconductor chip 11 , whereas fig9 b is a partial top view of the semiconductor chip 11 . in the second embodiment , there is carried out the same step as the step of forming the adhesive agent 32 a and the microbumps 34 in the first embodiment ( see fig4 a and 4b ). after the step of forming the adhesive agent 32 a and the microbumps 34 is carried out , the adhesive agent 32 a is partially removed using laser , as illustrated in fig9 a and 9b . in this case , a portion of the adhesive agent 32 a between adjacent microbumps 34 is removed in a plurality of microbumps 34 lining up in a predetermined direction . the predetermined direction is , for example , a direction toward the central portion from the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip 11 ( or the semiconductor substrate 12 ). fig1 a and 10b are manufacturing process diagrams of the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment . fig1 a is a cross - sectional view of the semiconductor chip 11 , whereas fig1 b is a top view of the semiconductor chip 11 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 10b , the joining solder 35 a is supplied from a dispenser 41 to form ( apply ) the joining solder 35 a on the plurality of microbumps 34 . in this case , the joining solder 35 a is formed on the plurality of microbumps 34 exposed out of the adhesive agent 32 a , and buried between adjacent microbumps 34 . accordingly , the joining solder 35 a is formed on the plurality of microbumps 34 lining up in a predetermined direction . the predetermined direction is , for example , a direction toward the central portion from the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip 11 ( or the semiconductor substrate 12 ). fig1 is a manufacturing process diagram of the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment . as illustrated in fig1 , the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are aligned with each other . in this case , the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 are disposed so that the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 face each other . the semiconductor chip 21 is processed in the same way as the semiconductor chip 11 . that is , the wiring layer 24 is formed on the semiconductor chip 21 . subsequently , a plurality of microbumps 36 are connected to the wiring layer 24 . next , an adhesive agent 32 b is formed ( applied ) on the wiring layer 24 . subsequently , a portion of the adhesive agent 32 b between adjacent microbumps 36 is removed . next , the joining solder 35 b is formed on the plurality of microbumps 36 exposed out of the adhesive agent 32 b , and buried between adjacent microbumps 36 . consequently , the joining solder 35 b is formed on the plurality of microbumps 36 lining up in a predetermined direction . the predetermined direction is , for example , a direction toward the central portion from the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip 21 ( or the semiconductor substrate 22 ). fig1 is a manufacturing process diagram of the laminated chip 1 according to the second embodiment . as illustrated in fig1 , the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side are brought into contact with each other . likewise , the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side are brought into contact with each other . next , a heating treatment is performed to attach the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side to each other and join together the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side . a pressurization treatment may be performed along with the heating treatment . the pressurization treatment is a treatment used to press the semiconductor chip 11 against the semiconductor chip 21 , or press the semiconductor chip 21 against the semiconductor chip 11 . by attaching the adhesive agent 32 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the adhesive agent 32 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side to each other , a combined adhesive agent 32 is formed between the wiring layers 15 and 24 . this process forms the adhesive agent 32 for bonding the wiring layers 15 and 24 . by joining together the joining solder 35 a formed on the semiconductor chip 11 side and the joining solder 35 b formed on the semiconductor chip 21 side , combined joining solder 35 is formed between the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 . according to the laminated chips 1 in accordance with the first and second embodiments , it is possible to reduce a voltage drop in electrical power supply to the semiconductor chip 21 without using expensive rewiring layers and separately - arranged interposers . accordingly , a large current can be supplied to the laminated chip 1 while preventing an increase in the manufacturing cost of the laminated chip 1 . for example , heat transfer from the semiconductor chip 11 to the semiconductor chip 21 is decreased when an interposer is disposed between the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 . according to the laminated chips 1 in accordance with the first and second embodiments , any interposer is not disposed between the semiconductor chips 11 and 21 . a voltage drop in electrical power supply to the semiconductor chip 21 can therefore be reduced while maintaining the effect of cooling the laminated chip 1 . in addition , according to the laminated chips 1 in accordance with the first and second embodiments , the plurality of microbumps 34 and the plurality of microbumps 36 are joined together with the joining solder 35 , thereby improving heat transfer from the semiconductor chip 11 to the semiconductor chip 21 . all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions , nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the present inventions has been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .

7Electricity

fig1 depicts a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a processor chip within which the present invention may find application . referring to fig1 , a processor 100 is coupled to external devices / systems 140 . the processor 100 may be any type of processor including , for example , a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a microprocessor , a microcontroller , or combinations thereof . the external devices 140 may be any type of systems or devices including input / output devices such as keyboards , displays , speakers , microphones , memory , or other systems which may or may not include processors . moreover , the processor 100 and the external devices 140 may together comprise a stand alone system . the processor 100 includes a program memory 105 , an instruction fetch / decode unit 110 , instruction execution units 115 data memory and registers 120 , peripherals 125 , data i / o 130 , and a program counter and loop control unit 135 . the bus 150 , which may include one or more common buses , communicates data between the units as shown . the program memory 105 stores software embodied in program instructions for execution by the processor 100 . the program memory 105 may comprise any type of nonvolatile memory such as a read only memory ( rom ), a programmable read only memory ( prom ), an electrically programmable or an electrically programmable and erasable read only memory ( eprom or eeprom ) or flash memory . in addition , the program memory 105 may be supplemented with external nonvolatile memory 145 as shown to increase the complexity of software available to the processor 100 . alternatively , the program memory may be volatile memory , which receives program instructions from , for example , an external non - volatile memory 145 . when the program memory 105 is nonvolatile memory , the program memory may be programmed at the time of manufacturing the processor 100 or prior to or during implementation of the processor 100 within a system . in the latter scenario , the processor 100 may be programmed through a process called in - line serial programming . the instruction fetch / decode unit 110 is coupled to the program memory 105 , the instruction execution units 115 , and the data memory 120 . coupled to the program memory 105 and the bus 150 is the program counter and loop control unit 135 . the instruction fetch / decode unit 110 fetches the instructions from the program memory 105 specified by the address value contained in the program counter 135 . the instruction fetch / decode unit 110 then decodes the fetched instructions and sends the decoded instructions to the appropriate execution unit 115 . the instruction fetch / decode unit 110 may also send operand information including addresses of data to the data memory 120 and to functional elements that access the registers . the program counter and loop control unit 135 includes a program counter register ( not shown ) which stores an address of the next instruction to be fetched . during normal instruction processing , the program counter register may be incremented to cause sequential instructions to be fetched . alternatively , the program counter value may be altered by loading a new value into it via the bus 150 . the new value may be derived based on decoding and executing a flow control instruction such as , for example , a branch instruction . in addition , the loop control portion of the program counter and loop control unit 135 may be used to provide repeat instruction processing and repeat loop control as further described below . the instruction execution units 115 receive the decoded instructions from the instruction fetch / decode unit 110 and thereafter execute the decoded instructions . as part of this process , the execution units may retrieve one or two operands via the bus 150 and store the result into a register or memory location within the data memory 120 . the execution units may include an arithmetic logic unit ( alu ) such as those typically found in a microcontroller . the execution units may also include a digital signal processing engine , a floating point processor , an integer processor , or any other convenient execution unit . a preferred embodiment of the execution units and their interaction with the bus 150 , which may include one or more buses , is presented in more detail below with reference to fig2 . the data memory and registers 120 are volatile memory and are used to store data used and generated by the execution units . the data memory 120 and program memory 105 are preferably separate memories for storing data and program instructions respectively . this format is a known generally as a harvard architecture . it is noted , however , that according to the present invention , the architecture may be a von - neuman architecture or a modified harvard architecture , which permits the use of some program space for data space . a dotted line is shown , for example , connecting the program memory 105 to the bus 150 . this path may include logic for aligning data reads from program space such as , for example , during table reads from program space to data memory 120 . referring again to fig1 , a plurality of peripherals 125 on the processor may be coupled to the bus 125 . the peripherals may include , for example , analog to digital converters , timers , bus interfaces and protocols such as , for example , the controller area network ( can ) protocol or the universal serial bus ( usb ) protocol and other peripherals . the peripherals exchange data over the bus 150 with the other units . the data i / o unit 130 may include transceivers and other logic for interfacing with the external devices / systems 140 . the data i / o unit 130 may further include functionality to permit in circuit serial programming of the program memory through the data i / o unit 130 . fig2 depicts a functional block diagram of a data busing scheme for use in a processor 100 , such as that shown in fig1 , which has an integrated microcontroller arithmetic logic unit ( alu ) 270 and a digital signal processing ( dsp ) engine 230 . this configuration may be used to integrate dsp functionality to an existing microcontroller core . referring to fig2 , the data memory 120 of fig1 is implemented as two separate memories : an x - memory 210 and a y - memory 220 , each being respectively addressable by an x - address generator 250 and a y - address generator 260 . the x - address generator may also permit addressing the y - memory space thus making the data space appear like a single contiguous memory space when addressed from the x address generator . the bus 150 may be implemented as two buses , one for each of the x and y memory , to permit simultaneous fetching of data from the x and y memories . the w registers 240 are general purpose address and / or data registers . the dsp engine 230 is coupled to both the x and y memory buses and to the w registers 240 . the dsp engine 230 may simultaneously fetch data from each the x and y memory , execute instructions which operate on the simultaneously fetched data and write the result to an accumulator ( not shown ) and write a prior result to x or y memory or to the w registers 240 within a single processor cycle . in one embodiment , the alu 270 may be coupled only to the x memory bus and may only fetch data from the x bus . however , the x and y memories 210 and 220 may be addressed as a single memory space by the x address generator in order to make the data memory segregation transparent to the alu 270 . the memory locations within the x and y memories may be addressed by values stored in the w registers 240 . any processor clocking scheme may be implemented for fetching and executing instructions . a specific example follows , however , to illustrate an embodiment of the present invention . each instruction cycle is comprised of four q clock cycles q 1 - q 4 . the four phase q cycles provide timing signals to coordinate the decode , read , process data and write data portions of each instruction cycle . according to one embodiment of the processor 100 , the processor 100 concurrently performs two operations — it fetches the next instruction and executes the present instruction . accordingly , the two processes occur simultaneously . the following sequence of events may comprise , for example , the fetch instruction cycle : the following sequence of events may comprise , for example , the execute instruction cycle for a single operand instruction : the following sequence of events may comprise , for example , the execute instruction cycle for a dual operand instruction using a data pre - fetch mechanism . these instructions pre - fetch the dual operands simultaneously from the x and y data memories and store them into registers specified in the instruction . they simultaneously allow instruction execution on the operands fetched during the previous cycle . an exemplary memory map of data space memory 300 is shown in fig3 . data space memory 300 includes a plurality of blocks of memory , divided into x address memory and y address memory . typically , data space memory 300 is implemented as random access read - write memory ( ram ), so as to allow data to be read and written as necessary . however , read - only memory ( rom ) may also be advantageously used for at least a portion of data space memory 300 . for example , constant data values , look up tables , etc ., may be usefully stored in rom . in the example shown in fig3 , x address memory includes memory blocks 302 , 304 , 306 , and 308 , while y address memory includes memory block 310 . data space memory 300 is split into two blocks , x address memory and y address memory . a key element of this architecture is that the y address memory space is a subset of the x address memory space , and is fully contained within the x address memory space . in order to provide an apparent linear addressing space , the x and y address memory spaces would typically have contiguous addresses , although this is not an architectural necessity . in the example shown in fig3 , memory block 302 includes a block of contiguous memory , starting at data memory location 0x0000 . memory block 302 is reserved in x address memory space and is directly addressable using memory direct instructions . the remaining x address memory and y address memory spaces are indirectly addressable using other instructions . in the example shown in fig3 , y address memory space 310 is located between two blocks of x address memory space , block 304 and 306 . however , this is only an example , as the y address memory space 310 may be located anywhere within the non - reserved x address memory space . the partition between the x and y address spaces is arbitrary and is determined by the memory decode shown in fig2 . both the x and y address generator can generate any effective address ( ea ) within the range of data memory space 300 . however , accesses to memory addresses that are in the other address space , or to memory addresses that are not implemented with physical memory will return data of 0x0000 ( all zeros ). memory block 308 is shown in fig3 as being an x address memory block . memory block 308 , which includes at least a portion of data memory space 300 , may be used as x address memory , y address memory , or a mixture of x address memory and y address memory . when used as x address memory , memory block 308 may be mapped into program memory space . this provides transparent access to constant data , such as stored constants , look up tables , etc ., from the x address data memory space without the need to use special instructions . this feature allows the mapping of a portion of data memory space into an unused area of program memory , and since all unused internal addresses are mapped externally , to the external memory bus . this is shown in fig4 , which is an exemplary block diagram of the program memory space to data memory space mapping . data memory space block 308 , which is a portion of data memory space 300 is mapped to a data memory space page 402 in internal program memory space 404 . the location of data memory space page 402 in internal program memory space 404 is specified by page register 406 . internal program memory space 404 is still used for program instruction access , as specified by program counter ( pc ) 408 . external memory device 410 is connected to the external memory bus 412 of the processor . external memory device 410 includes external program / data memory space 414 . since all unused internal addresses are mapped externally to the external memory bus , data memory space mapped page 402 is also mapped to external data memory space mapped page 416 , which is located in external program / data memory space 412 . if external memory device 410 is a ram , then data may be read from and written to external data memory space mapped page 416 . external program / data space 414 may also include external program memory space 418 , which may be separate from external data memory space mapped page 416 , or which may overlap with external data memory space mapped page 416 . since the program memory space may include data that is used when a portion of the program memory space is mapped to the data memory space , there is some danger that the processor will erroneously fetch and attempt to execute that data . this may happen , for example , when there is a bug in a software program that is executing on the processor that sets the program counter ( pc ) to a memory location in the program memory space that happens to be storing data . this problem can arise when data is stored in internal program memory space and is even more likely to arise when data is stored in an external memory device . the present invention includes a mechanism for detecting such erroneous accesses and provides the capability to handle such errors . a block diagram of the data execution protection scheme of the present invention is shown in fig5 . data memory space 502 , including a plurality of data entries 504 , is mapped from a data memory block portion 506 of program memory space 508 . program memory space 508 also includes one or more blocks of program instructions , such as program instruction blocks 510 and 512 . as shown , each data entry , such as data entry 514 , in data memory space 502 includes 16 bits of data . each program instruction entry , such as program instruction entry 516 , in program memory space 508 includes 24 bits of program instruction . the entries in data memory block 506 of program memory space 508 , such as entry 518 , are likewise 24 bits . since a data entry only requires 16 bits , such as data portion 520 of entry 518 , 8 bits of each entry in data memory block 506 are not used by data and may be used for other functions . in the present invention , this other portion is used to contain a protection opcode 522 , which allows erroneous execution of a data entry to be detected . a process 600 for detection and handling of erroneous execution of a data entry is shown in fig6 . the process begins with step 602 , in which data is stored to the data memory space that was mapped from program memory space . this data is stored to the lower 16 bits of each entry that is used . in addition to the data that is stored , a protection opcode is stored to the upper 8 bits ( byte ) of each data entry that is used . typically , the protection opcode will be stored when the data entry is stored . for example , since program memory is typically implemented using non - volatile memory , the program instructions stored in the program memory are stored to the program memory during the production process . the protection opcodes may easily be stored to the program memory by this step in the production process . this is true both for internal program memory and for non - volatile external memory . in step 604 , program memory space is mapped to data memory space by issuance of the proper program instructions . in step 606 , the processor erroneously fetches and attempts to execute data that was stored in an entry in data memory space that was mapped from program memory space . since the processor is fetching a program instruction , the processor treats the entry as a program instruction entry and fetches the entire 24 bits of the entry . the upper 8 bits of the entry are the protection opcode , while the lower 16 bits are the data in the entry . the processor attempts to execute the fetched entry , and in particular attempts to decode the protection opcode . in step 608 , this attempted decode of the protection opcode causes a processor trap to occur . a trap can be considered to be a non - maskable , nestable interrupt . they provide a means by which erroneous operation can be corrected during software debug and during operation of the software . upon occurrence of a trap , the execution flow of the processor is vectored to a trap handler in step 610 . that is , the program counter of the processor is loaded with a value that points to the trap handler . the trap handler is a software routine that takes the appropriate corrective action upon occurrence of the trapped condition . the value is stored in an exception vector table that includes vectors for a variety of exception conditions , such as reset , stack overflow , address error , illegal instruction trap , arithmetic error , etc . each entry in the exception vector table points to an exception handler that takes the appropriate action upon occurrence of the corresponding exception . in step 612 , the trap handler deals with the error . typically , the trap handler simply forces a reset of the processor . this would be done , for example , in an implementation in which a stand - alone application is executing in the processor . since an attempt to execute a data entry is likely a result of a serious program error , performing a reset of the processor is often the best way of recovering from such an error . in an implementation in which there is an operating system controlling the processor , it may be possible to simply terminate the application program that caused the error and allow the operating system to recover from the error . in a preferred embodiment , the illegal instruction trap vector is used to vector the processor to a routine that handles the attempted execution of a protection opcode . the protection opcode must be one of the possible 8 bit opcodes that is not used by any instruction of the processor . attempted execution of this opcode will result in an illegal instruction trap . the illegal instruction trap handler must then examine the opcode that caused the illegal instruction trap , determine that the opcode is the protection opcode , and execute the appropriate software routines to handle the trap , which typically includes recovering from the error condition . alternatively , there may be a defined protection trap that is separate from the illegal instruction trap . attempted execution of the protection opcode will cause a protection trap to occur , rather than a general illegal instruction trap . since the processor will have already determined the opcode that was attempted to be executed was the protection opcode , the protection trap then need only execute the appropriate software routines to handle the error condition . in the embodiment described above , internal program memory is organized as a plurality of 24 bit entries , each of which may contain a 16 bit data entry and an 8 bit protection opcode . the present invention also contemplates a number of additional and alternative embodiments . for example , an external memory may be used in which 24 bit entries are stored . in this embodiment , a 24 bit entry may contain a 16 bit data entry and an 8 bit protection opcode . if the external memory is a non - volatile memory , then the data entries and protection opcodes , along with any program instructions , may be stored in the external memory during the production process . if the external memory is a volatile memory , then the data entries and the protection opcodes must be stored to the external memory by the processor . alternatively , data entries may be stored in the external memory as 16 bit data entries , without protection opcodes . in this embodiment , the external memory may be connected to the processor using a memory bus configuration that is aware that the data entries are 16 bits . for example , the memory bus connected to the external memory may be 16 bits wide , rather than the 24 bits wide that would be needed for program instructions . as another example , the address range of the external memory that is mapped to data memory may be used by the processor to identify a portion of the external memory that is storing data entries rather than program entries . in either example , the processor can detect an attempted program instruction access of the external memory or the portion of external memory that is storing data entries . upon detection of such an attempted access , the processor may directly perform a protection trap . alternatively , the processor may simply force a protection opcode onto the top 8 bits of the program instruction bus , which will also cause a protection trap to be performed . while specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that changes may be made to those embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the present invention has been described in terms of 16 bit data entries , 24 bit program instruction entries , and 8 bit opcodes . however , one of skill in the art will recognize that such specific values are only examples , and that other arrangements and numbers of bits may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the present invention contemplates any and all such alternative arrangements and numbers of bits .

6Physics

fig1 schematically illustrates a fragment of a synthetic turf pile carpet 10 . the carpet has numerous , closely spaced , tufts 11 which are formed of u - shaped , flat , narrow bent strips or strands 12 that form artificial grass blades . the turfs are fastened upon a base or backing sheet 14 . this sheet may be made of a woven cloth or the like fabric material formed of stable , weather resistant , plastic such as polypropylene or nylon fibers or the like . the specific cloth must be flexible but , otherwise , may vary as to its composition . as schematically illustrated in fig1 the tufts are inserted around or through the fibers forming the base sheet . a suitable binder layer 16 may be applied to bind the turfs and base sheet together . the binder may be formed of a polyurethane adhesive material or some other suitable , outdoor usable adhesive which remains resilient or flexible . the carpet is placed upon a resilient cushion underpad 18 . this underpad is formed of a relatively thick sheet or pad of a resilient plastic material . a preferred underpad material is expanded bead polypropylene molded into an open cell pad or sheet . the sheet may be approximately between about ½ inch to 2 inches in thickness , with a preferred density of approximately 2 . 36 pounds per cubic foot . the density may be varied within the range of between about 1 . 5 to 3 pounds per cubic foot . the thickness of the pad , depending upon the particular results desired , may also be varied to a slightly less than ¼ inch thickness to as much as up to 12 inches thick . the material utilized for the underpad may be varied . that is , other resiliently compressible plastic materials may be used , such as rubber - like polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride or the like materials . with the carpet positioned upon the resilient cushion underpad 18 , the upper portions of the strands or blades are sprayed with a blast of sand 20 or similar sand - like particulate material from a pressurized nozzle 21 . this blast of sand shreds each of the strand upper end portions into numerous slivers 23 ( see fig6 ). the slivers extend laterally and intertwine and entangle together to form a dense mat 24 . the spray nozzle 21 may be moved back and forth from one side to the other in a scanner - like movement across the upper end portions of the blades formed by the strands . the exact pressure of the sand blast spray may be varied . however , a preferred blast pressure is in the range of 100 to 120 pounds per square inch . the blast may use silica sand of a size range of between about 16 to 40 mesh and , preferably , in the range of between about 20 to 24 mesh or even more preferably in the approximate area of 24 mesh . the sandblasting is conducted at a speed of movement and for a length of time which is sufficient to shred the strand end portions into finely divided slivers . for example , the upper , about one - fifth portions of the blades may be shredded into fine slivers that remain attached to their respective blades . the force of the sand blast , depending upon how long , that is , how slowly the blast is moved across the surface of the carpet , not only shreds the blades , but also forces the sprayed sand downwardly between the strands to deposit sand upon the surface of the base sheet of the carpet . the faster the movement of the sandblast across the surface of the pile carpet , the slower is the playing surface . that is , the speed of rebound and roll of a ball is inversely proportional to the speed of movement of the sandblast across the blades . the sand layer 25 formed by the deposited sand may be kept upon the base sheet of the carpet where it is maintained in position by the dense intertwined or entangled sliver mat formed on the upper ends of the blades . by way of example , a blade height of approximately ⅝ of an inch above the surface of the base sheet , which is useful for a golf green surface may have its upper 20 to 33 percent of its length shredded into fine slivers . in this example , strands which are approximately { fraction ( 1 / 16 )} of an inch , i . e ., about 0 . 07 inches wide and about 0 . 002 inches thick , so that they are approximately rectangular in cross - section . the strands are bent in half to each form two blades , and are gathered into tufts of about 9 - 11 strands . these form about 18 to 22 blades per tuft . the upper about 20 percent of each blade may be severed into about four slivers . thus , each tuft may have as many as 70 to 80 slivers whose lower ends remain attached to the blade body and whose upper ends extend off into transverse directions to entangle with the slivers of adjacent strands . the slivers are about 0 . 02 inches in width and about 0 . 075 to 0 . 125 inches long . following the sandblasting step , the carpet may be further treated with a high pressure water spray 27 applied by a pressurized nozzle 28 . the water spray , which , for example , could be at a roughly 100 to 150 pounds per square inch nozzle pressure , acts like a wash which further separates adjacent slivers that were shredded , but not fully separated from each other on the same strand , and simultaneously further twists , bends and entangles the slivers of one strand with slivers on its adjacent strand to further densify the mat formed by the intertwined slivers . this forms a denser and more uniform mat surface . the mat surface may be further treated by brushing it with , for example , a rotary brush 29 applied upon the mat surface to make the mat surface more uniform . the water jet and the brushing also make the sand layer more uniform . the water jet and the brushing may be performed successively or at the same time as schematically illustrated in fig5 . significantly , the force of the sandblasting is sufficiently absorbed through the resilient cushioning pad beneath the carpet to prevent the strands from becoming crushed or permanently deformed or compacted by such force . that is , the strands remain or return to their upright positions after their upper ends are sand blasted . the upright positions are maintained , in part , by the deposited sand layer 25 . similarly , the strands and the mat 24 hold the sand layer 25 in place . in the cases where the piles or upright strands of the pile carpet are tilted or curved in one direction relative to the plane of the carpet base sheet , the sandblasting tends to vertically straighten the strand portions that are located beneath the slivers . then , the sand layer helps to keep the more vertical positioning of such strands . the sand layer filling may be kept in place and the matted carpet may be rolled and transported to the site where it is to be spread and used with the sand layer . this permits the sand blast treatment to be performed either on the site of the game playing field or at any work site or factory area where the application of the sand , water and brushing treatments may be more conveniently performed . thus , the treated carpet may be unrolled and installed at the game surface site when desired and the sand layer will remain in place and additional sand at the use site for a sand filling may not be needed . as mentioned , the particular pile carpet construction may be varied . however , an example of a useful carpet for a golf green comprises synthetic grass of approximately 7600 deniers , an approximate density of 42 ounces per square yard , and a fiber height of approximately ⅝ inch combined with an underpad of ½ inch to 2 inches in thickness . similarly , an example of a fairway portion of a golf course may be in the range of approximately 7600 deniers synthetic grass , an approximate density of 42 to 55 ounces per square yard , with a fiber height of about ⅝ to 2 inches with an underpad of at least about one inch thick . still another example of the synthetic grass would be a weaving standard in the range of 3 , 600 to 10 , 000 deniers , with 13 to 22 stitches per 3 inches , { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} gage and a density of about 34 to 65 ounces per square yard of material . the preferred beaded polypropylene material is commercially available for use in molding the underpads of the desired density . by way of example , expanded polypropylene beads are available under the trade name of neopolen p , which is a trademark of basf . this material is available at densities of 1 . 3 , 1 . 9 and 2 . 8 pounds per cubic foot and is referenced by basf trademark eperan pp , types pp45 , pp30 and lbs 20 . when the beads are molded in appropriate slab molding equipment at times and pressures known to those skilled in the art , the resulting pad , produced in the desired thickness , should have a density in the range of 1 . 5 to 3 pounds per cubic foot with an open cell construction . the specific density selected may be varied for specific sport activities . for example , a density that has been found satisfactory for a golf green is in the range of approximately 2 . 36 pounds per cubic foot . the particular technique useful for the sandblast treatment involves sandblasting under pressure using commercially available sandblast equipment . a pressure in the range of 100 to 120 pounds per square inch is preferred but the pressure may be varied somewhat , such as a low of about 80 pounds per square inch . by moving the spray nozzle in back and forth movements across the surface of the carpet , the projected spray is sequentially concentrated upon small portions of the carpet . the angle of the projected spray may vary but a preferred angle , which appears to be effective in a minimum of time , is an angle of about 70 to 80 degrees relative to the plane of the carpet . the distance of the nozzle from the strands may vary , with the equipment operator selecting the optimum distance by visually observing the shredding action of the spray . an example of the distance may be in the range of about 4 to 5 feet , depending upon the speed of movement of the nozzle across the carpet . the resulting synthetic turf is particularly useful for golf courses , such as the green portions , approach portions , tee - off portions and fairway . the turf surface also may be used for tennis courts , football or soccer as well as for other sports which utilize grass surfaces . examples of these are grass hockey , croquet , grass bowling , children playground , baseball , and the like . the surface of the artificial turf produced by the method herein , closely simulates the feel and action or rebound produced by a natural grass surfaced playing field . the completed , matted surface very closely simulates the natural grass surfaces required for golf courses and the similar playing fields . the turf produced by this method may also be useful as a covering upon a rooftop or patio or deck surface . as a covering , turf will form an insulation and a waterproofing material for such surfaces . this invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims . accordingly , it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense .

4Fixed Constructions

fig1 is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the closed loop cooling system . this system is fully described in co - pending u . s . application ser . nos . 61 / 033 , 064 and 61 / 053 , 713 herein incorporated by reference in their entirety . it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments includes the cooling of displays including , but not limited to lcds . by way of example and not by way of limitation , the exemplary embodiments may be used in conjunction with displays selected from among lcd ( including tft or stn type ), light emitting diode ( led ), organic light emitting diode ( oled ), field emitting display ( fed ), cathode ray tube ( crt ), and plasma displays . furthermore , embodiments may be used with displays of other types including those not yet discovered . in particular , it is contemplated that the exemplary embodiments may be well suited for use with full color , flat panel oled displays . while the embodiments described herein are well suited for outdoor environments , they may also be appropriate for indoor applications ( e . g ., factory environments ) where thermal stability of the display may be at risk . an exemplary embodiment 10 of the electronic display and gas cooling system includes an isolated gas cooling chamber 20 contained within an electronic display housing 70 . a narrow transparent first gas chamber may be defined by spacers 100 and transparent front plate 90 . a second transparent front plate 130 may be laminated to front plate 90 to help prevent breakage of transparent plate 90 . cooling chamber 20 surrounds an electronic display 80 ( in this case an lcd stack ) and associated backlight panel 140 ( although some embodiments may not require a backlight panel ). the gas cooling system 10 may include means for cooling gas contained within the cooling plenum 45 . this means may include a fan 60 which may be positioned at the base of the display housing 70 . the fan will force the cooler ingested air over at least one external surface of a posterior cooling plenum 45 . if desired , an air conditioner ( not shown ) may also be utilized to cool the air which contacts the external surface of plenum 45 . this air may be the same air that is forced between the backlight 145 and the surface of the plenum 45 in order to further cool the backlight 145 . referring to fig2 , in at least one embodiment the isolated gas cooling chamber 20 comprises a closed loop which includes a first gas chamber 30 and a rear cooling chamber 40 . the first gas chamber includes a transparent plate 90 . the second gas chamber comprises a cooling plenum 45 . the term “ isolated gas ” refers to the fact that the gas within the isolated gas cooling chamber 20 is essentially isolated from external air in the housing of the display . because the first gas chamber 30 is positioned in front of the display image , the gas should be substantially free of dust or other contaminates that might negatively affect the display image . the isolated gas may be almost any transparent gas , for example , normal air , nitrogen , helium , or any other transparent gas . the gas is preferably colorless so as not to affect the image quality . furthermore , the isolated gas cooling chamber need not necessarily be hermetically sealed from the external air . it is sufficient that the gas in the chamber is isolated to the extent that dust and contaminates may not substantially enter the first gas chamber . the first gas chamber 30 is in gaseous communication with the rear cooling chamber 40 . a cooling chamber fan 50 may be provided within the posterior plenum 45 . the cooling fan 50 may be utilized to propel gas around the isolated gas cooling chamber 20 . the first gas chamber 30 includes at least one transparent plate 90 mounted in front of an electronic display surface 85 . the transparent plate 90 may be set forward from the electronic display surface 85 by spacers 100 . the spacing members 100 define the depth of the narrow channel passing in front of the electronic display surface 85 . the spacing members 100 may be independent or alternatively may be integral with some other component of the device ( e . g ., integral with the front plate ). the electronic display surface 85 , the spacing members , and the transparent front plate 90 define a narrow first gas chamber 30 . the chamber 30 is in gaseous communication with plenum 45 through entrance opening 110 and exit opening 120 . fig3 a shows a cross - sectional view of the section that is shown in fig2 . towards the front of the display is the first gas chamber 30 which abuts against the electronic display 80 . in front of the first gas chamber 30 is the transparent plate 90 . towards the rear of the display , the backlight 140 is placed in close proximity to the posterior rear cooling chamber 40 . the close proximity of these two elements , in part , creates the constricted convection cooling of the backlight 140 . one or more constricted convection fans 200 may be used to draw air between the backlight 140 and the rear cooling chamber 40 . it has been found that forcing air through a smaller space increases the cooling abilities of the system . the distance between the backlight 140 and the rear cooling chamber 40 may vary depending on many factors , including but not limited to : the size of the display , the design of the backlight assembly , the desired operating environment , and the size and speed of the selected constricted convection fans . an ideal distance may be between 0 . 25 and 1 . 25 inches . alternatively , an ideal distance may be between 0 . 33 and 2 . 5 inches . larger distances may be preferable , depending at least upon the many factors listed above . the backlight may comprise a printed circuit board ( pcb ) with a plurality of lights mounted to the side facing the electronic display 80 . the lights in the backlight may be any one of the following : leds , organic light emitting diodes ( oled ), field emitting display ( fed ), light emitting polymer ( lep ), or organic electro - luminescence ( oel ) lights . in an exemplary embodiment , the backlight 140 would ideally have a low level of thermal resistance between the side facing the electronic display 80 and the side facing the cooling plenum . to accomplish this low level of thermal resistance , the backlight 140 may be built using metal printed circuit board ( pcb ) technology to further transfer heat away from the lights . the rear surface of the backlight 140 may also be metallic , or some other thermally conductive material , to further enhance the convective heat transferring properties . the surface may even have a plurality of surface features such as fins to further enhance the convective heat transferring properties . the constricted convection fan 200 may then send the warm air out of an exhaust 179 ( shown in fig1 ) so that it may exit the display housing entirely . fig3 b shows another cross - sectional view of another embodiment for the constricted convection setup . in this embodiment , the constricted convection fan 200 is used to push air between the backlight 140 and the rear cooling chamber 40 . fig3 c shows an embodiment without the constricted convection fan , but instead uses the fan 60 which draws air from outside the display housing . as noted above , this air may simply be ambient air or alternatively this air may come from a conditioning unit ( not shown ). to facilitate the flow of air between the backlight 140 and the rear cooling chamber 40 , a guiding device 210 may be used . fig3 d shows another embodiment , where the rear cooling chamber 40 contains a guiding feature 41 , which is used in combination with the guiding device 210 to facilitate the flow of air between the backlight and the cooling chamber . fig3 e shows another embodiment , where both the fan 60 and the constricted convection fan 200 is used . this embodiment could also utilize a version of the guiding devices shown in fig3 c and 3d . while the display is operational , the fan 60 and the constricted convection fan 200 may run continuously . however , if desired , a temperature sensor ( not shown ) and a switch or microcontroller ( not shown ) may be incorporated within the electronic display . this effective thermostat may be used to detect when temperatures have reached a predetermined threshold value . in such a case , the various fans may be selectively engaged when the temperature in the display reaches a predetermined value . predetermined thresholds may be selected and the system may be configured with a thermostat ( not shown ) to advantageously keep the display within an acceptable temperature range . this would save on both energy costs as well as the useful lifetime of the devices . an optional air filter ( not shown ) may be employed within the plenum to assist in preventing contaminates and dust from entering the first gas chamber 30 . an air filter could also be used to prevent fan 60 from drawing in particulates from either the surrounding environment or the conditioning unit . it should be noted , that some embodiments may not use display technology that requires a backlight . for these types of displays , the electronic display 80 would be placed anterior to the rear cooling chamber 40 ( rather than the backlight 140 ). for example , an oled may be placed anterior to the rear cooling chamber 40 so that cooling air could be forced between the posterior surface of the oled and the rear cooling chamber 40 . having shown and described the preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the embodiments and still be within the scope of the claimed invention . additionally , many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention . it is the intention , therefore , to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims .

6Physics

a composite member , which is prepared by impregnating a carbon fiber bundle with a thermosetting primer , forming the prepreg to a predetermined profile and then curing the thermosetting primer , has been used as a carbon fiber cable for a pre - stressed concrete member . the inventive carbon fiber cable is different from the conventional composite member , since it is fabricated without steps of pre - impregnation and thermosetting . due to omission of pre - impregnating and thermosetting steps , the carbon fiber cable is offered at a low cost . according to the present invention , carbon filaments are bundled in a state each parallel to the other , and the carbon fiber bundle is formed to a straight carbon fiber cable by application of a certain tension . a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond is infiltrated into the straight carbon fiber cable and then cured at a temperature of 60 ° c . or lower during steam - aging concrete . the cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond preferably has a cure temperature of 20 ± 10 ° c . and viscosity of 700 – 1000 mpa · sec . a burial anchor is also prepared from the same straight carbon fiber cable , as follows : the straight carbon fiber cable is bent to a u - shape , and upper parts of the u - shaped carbon fiber cable are coupled with a tendon . a middle part between the coupled parts is straightened , while a bottom of the u - shaped carbon fiber cable is reformed to a flatter and wider profile than the other part . a resin bond is infiltrated into the carbon fiber cable and cured therein . the u - shaped carbon exhibits an elevated anchoring effect due to the flattened bottom , when the anchor is buried in grout hardened in a sheath or a concrete body . the anchor made of the straight carbon fiber cable is also excellent in corrosion - resistance and handled with ease . a hoop , which is used in a pre - tension process , is also prepared from a straight carbon fiber cable . two or more straight carbon fiber cables as a main reinforcing member are arranged parallel to each other . a carbon fiber hoop is wound around the straight carbon fiber cables . a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond is infiltrated into the main reinforcing member and the hoop at the crossing points . the hoop is formed at a part of the main reinforcing member by curing the resin bond . since straight carbon fiber cables are used as main reinforcing member , burial anchors and hoops , pre - stressed concrete members , which are lightened ( e . g . a fourth of a conventional concrete member reinforced with a steel rod by specific gravity ) and well resistant to corrosion in a salty atmosphere , are manufactured . due to excellent corrosion - resistance , the concrete members are easily handled or stored and also installed with good durability . the other features of the present invention will be clearly understood from the following explanation consulting with drawings attached herewith . continuous carbon filaments 11 are arranged and stretched in a state parallel to each other , so as to form a straight carbon fiber cable 10 . the carbon filaments 11 are fixed together by a cold - setting resin bond 12 at proper positions along a longitudinal direction , as shown in fig1 a . in the case where the carbon fiber cable 10 is used for reinforcement of a pre - stressed concrete member , it is reformed to a tight state and impregnated with a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond . each carbon filament 11 is firmly bonded with the other by curing the resin bond , as shown in fig1 b . since the straight carbon fiber cable 10 is prepared by stretching continuous carbon filaments 11 and bonding the filaments 11 together , it is not loosened but improved in fatigue strength as compared with a conventional stranded cable . infiltration and curing of the cold - setting resin bond in the straight carbon fiber cable 10 may be performed in a cable - fabricating yard or a pre - stressed concrete member - manufacturing yard . in any case , use of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 remarkably eliminates difficulty on production and handling of a reinforced concrete member , and saves a working space necessary for fabrication and preparation of reinforcing members . consequently , pre - stressed concrete members are manufactured and installed at a low cost . moreover , it is possible to automatically on - line control arrangement of reinforcing members and production of pre - stressed concrete members . two or more straight carbon fiber cables 10 may be tied each other to a predetermined length suitable for a purpose , as shown in fig2 . when the straight carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b are tied together , carbon fibers 10 f are preferably wound onto the tied joint for reinforcement . in the case where two or more straight carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b are tied together to , a predetermined length necessary for a practical use , one straight carbon fiber cable 10 a is overlaid on the other straight carbon fiber cable 10 b , a cold - setting resin bond 12 is infiltrated into the overlaid part of the straight carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b , and the straight carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b are banded together with carbon fibers 10 f . thereafter , the cold - setting resin bond 12 is cured so as to bond the carbon fibers 10 f to the carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b . a fiber bundle of each carbon fiber cables 10 a , 10 b may be untied and intertwined at the joint before infiltration of the cold - setting resin bond 12 , in order to strengthen the tied joint . after a straight carbon fiber cable 10 is banded with a ring 31 at its end , carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b are pulled out beyond the ring 31 . reinforcing members 32 are bonded to the carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b with a resin bond , and one or more u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 33 , 33 are inserted as burial anchors between the carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b . ( fig3 , 4 a and 4 b ) the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 may be untied to separate filaments at jointing ends 33 e in a predetermined length a , as shown in fig5 . the separate filaments are intertwined with filaments of the straight carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b , and a resin ; bond is infiltrated into the intertwined part , whereby the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 33 are firmly bonded to the straight carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b by curing the infiltrated resin bond . the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 preferably has a flattened bottom in order to enlarge its bearing area with respect to grout 22 . the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 , which is preformed to a certain profile by infiltrating a thermosetting resin bond to a part except the jointing ends 33 e and curing the infiltrated resin bond therein , is bonded to a straight carbon fiber cable 10 in a cable - fabricating yard or a pre - stressed concrete - manufacturing yard . a u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 35 , which is formed from an end part of a straight carbon fiber cable 10 , may be used instead of the separate u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 . the integrated u - shaped carbon fiber anchor is fabricated as follows : carbon fiber bundles 17 are arranged in a toroidal state each parallel to the other , and expanded at both ends with spacers 34 r , 34 l , as shown in fig6 ( a ). after the carbon fiber bundles 17 are stretched , a banding carbon fiber bundle 18 is helically wound on and bonded to straight parts of the carbon fiber bundles 17 . as a result , u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l are formed at both ends of the carbon fiber cable 10 , as shown in fig6 ( b ). carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l are properly attached to the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l by winding carbon fiber reinforcing members 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l thereon , as shown in fig6 ( c ). the fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l are used for stretching the main reinforcing member 10 . the reinforcing members 32 , 37 are made of continuous carbon filaments . the stretching carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l are bonded to the integrated t - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l , by intertwining filaments of the carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l with filaments of the carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l , impregnating the intertwined part with a resin bond , and curing the resin bond therein . a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond is applied to a surface of the joint , where the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 is bonded to the straight carbon fiber cable 10 , or where the stretching carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l are bonded to the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l formed at end parts of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 . the reinforcing members 32 , 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l are helically wound on the resin bond - applied surface , and then the resin bond is cured so as to firmly integrate the reinforcing members 32 , 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l with the straight carbon fiber cable 10 and the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 33 , 35 r , 35 l . each carbon fiber bundle is preferably untied to separate filaments and intertwined together in this case , too . the bonded joint is strengthened due to presence of the cured resin bond and a tightening force of the reinforcing members 32 , 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l . in fact , the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 is firmly bonded to the straight carbon fiber cable 10 , or the stretching carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l is firmly bonded to the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l formed at end parts of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 by enlarging a contact plane between the carbon fiber filaments , infiltrating a sufficient amount of the resin bond and raising a tightening force of the reinforcing member 32 , 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l . in prior to bonding , each carbon fiber bundle is preferably untied to separate filaments at the joint between the straight carbon fiber cable 10 and the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 or between the integrated u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l and the stretching carbon fiber cable 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l . when the separate carbon fiber filaments are intertwined each other , impregnated with the resin bond and tied with the reinforcing members 32 , 37 1r , 37 1l , 37 2r , 37 2l , the bonded joint is further strengthened due to the cured resin bond in the carbon fiber bundles . the fabricated straight carbon fiber cable 10 is useful as a stretching cable in a post - tension or pre - tension process for manufacturing a pre - stressed concrete member 20 . in a post - tension process , the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 is bonded to the straight carbon fiber cable 10 , tentative anchors 40 a , 40 b for application of an initial tension are attached to top ends of carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b extending from the straight carbon fiber cable 10 , and then the carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b are inserted in a sheath 21 , which preferably has a tapered inner surface 21 t enlarged toward an opened end , as shown in fig3 . a reinforcing carbon fiber cable 14 may be helically wound on the straight carbon fiber cable 10 and bonded thereto with a resin bond , in prior to insertion of the carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b in the sheath 21 . adhesion of grout 22 to the straight carbon fiber cable 10 is improved by the reinforcing carbon fiber cable 14 . however , an unbending post - tension process without using the reinforcing carbon fiber cable 14 is also applicable . each tentative anchor 40 a , 40 b has a steel pipe 41 , whose inner diameter becomes larger from one end to the other end , as shown in fig7 a each carbon fiber bundle 13 a , 13 b is folded at its top end , the folded part is inserted in the steel pipe 41 from an opened end of a larger diameter . the folded part is overlaid on the straight carbon fiber cable 10 and integrally bonded thereto with a resin bond . thereafter , the steel pipe 41 is filled with a expansive resin or concrete 42 so as to prevent the folded part of the carbon fiber bundle 13 a , 13 b from dropping off the steel pipe 41 , as shown in fig7 b . the folded part of the carbon fiber bundle 13 a , 13 b may be flattened . adhesion of the resin or expansive concrete 42 to the folded part of the carbon fiber bundle 13 a , 13 b can be improved by a bonding node 44 , which is formed by winding a reinforcing carbon fiber bundle 43 on the flat folded part , infiltrating and curing the resin bond in the carbon fiber bundles 13 a , 13 b and 43 . a straight carbon fiber multi - cable 10 n maybe used as a straight carbon fiber cable 10 inserted in a sheath 21 , in order to enhance pre - stress strength . the multi - cable 10 n is also preferably tied with a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond at proper positions along its longitudinal direction . in the case where the straight carbon fiber multi - cable 10 n is used , each carbon fiber bundle 13 1 , 13 2 . . . 13 n extending from the multi - cable 10 n is folded and inserted in the sheath 21 , as shown in fig8 . the carbon fiber bundles 13 1 , 13 2 . . . 13 n are bridged with a plurality of u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 33 1 , 33 2 . . . 33 n , and tentative anchors 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n are attached to the carbon fiber bundles 13 1 , 13 2 . . . 13 n . the sheath 21 , in which the folded parts of the carbon fiber bundles 13 1 , 13 2 . . . 13 n are inserted , is located at one side of a molding box . the multi - cable 10 n is straightened by stretching each cable of the multi - cable 10 n . after the straight carbon fiber cable 10 , to which the u - shaped carbon fiber anchor 33 is fixed , or wherein the stretching carbon fiber cables 36 1r , 36 1l , 36 2r , 36 2l are bonded to the u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 35 r , 35 l formed at end parts of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 ( fig6 b and 6c ), is inserted in the sheath 21 , the straight carbon fiber cable 10 is set in a molding box . green concrete is poured in the molding box under the condition that the straight carbon fiber cable 10 is stretched by pulling the tentative anchors 40 a , 40 b . after the poured concrete 23 is hardened to a predetermined profile in the molding box , a hydraulic jack is detached from the molding box without relaxation of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 . grout 22 is then poured and hardened in the sheath 21 . thereafter , a tacking tool is unloosed , each carbon fiber bundle 13 a , 13 b is cut off at a position between the tentative anchor 40 a , 40 b and a concrete body 23 . the pre - stressed concrete member 20 is taken out of the molding box and offered for a practical use . a compression force ( i . e . pre - stress ), which originates in shrinkage of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 released from a tension , is applied to the pre - stressed concrete member 20 fabricated in this way , since an anchoring effect is realized by the buried carbon fiber anchor 33 and the grout 22 in the sheath 21 . a pre - tension process uses a pre - tension apparatus 50 having anchor - fixing discs 51 , to which tentative anchors 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n can be attached with predetermined positional relationship , at both sides , as shown in fig9 . a hydraulic jack 53 is located between each anchor - fixing disc 51 and a bearing wall 52 . reinforcing members 32 , u - shaped carbon fiber anchors 33 and so on are bonded to a straight carbon fiber cable 10 by the same way as the post - tension process , except use of main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n made of the straight carbon fiber cable 10 and a hoop 16 made of the straight carbon fiber bundle . a carbon fiber cable , in which a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond is preparatively infiltrated and cured , may be used as the straight carbon fiber cable 10 for the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n and the hoop 16 . each tentative anchor 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n is bonded to a corresponding carbon fiber bundle 13 1 , 13 2 . . . 13 n , and attached to a predetermined hole of the anchor - fixing disc 51 . a sectional profile of the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n ( in other words , a pre - stressed concrete member 20 ) is determined by selection of holes of the anchor - fixing disc 51 , to which the tentative anchor 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n are inserted . each main reinforcing member 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n is held parallel to the other , when its both ends are inserted in the holes of the anchor - fixing discs 51 . the hoop 16 is wound around the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n , which are held with such positional relationship to define a predetermined sectional profile . the hoop 16 is bonded to the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n at crossing points with a resin bond . the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n integrated with the hoop 16 are expanded between the anchor - fixing discs 51 , 51 , and the tentative anchors 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n are clamped to the anchor - fixing discs 51 , 51 . after the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n are set in a molding box 54 , the left - handed anchor - fixing disc 51 is shifted leftwards in fig9 by actuation of the hydraulic jack 53 so as to stretch the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n . under the condition that the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n are stretched with a certain tension , green concrete is poured in the molding box 54 and steam - aged therein . after the concrete is sufficiently hardened , the hydraulic jack 53 is released from a pressure . the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n are cut off at positions between the concrete body 23 and the tentative anchors 40 1 , 40 2 . . . 40 n , and the concrete member 20 is separated from the molding box 54 . the pre - stressed concrete member 20 fabricated in this way is strengthened due to a compression force ( i . e . pre - stress ) originated in shrinkage of the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n released from the tension . the bonded joints , where the hoop 16 is bonded to the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n at a right angle , act as a series of nodes along a longitudinal direction of the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n , so as to firmly integrate the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n with the concrete body 23 and to realize a dispersion effect of cracks . consequently , the pre - stressed concrete member 20 is durable over a long term due to mechanical strength of the main reinforcing members 15 1 , 15 2 . . . 15 n . according to the present invention , a straight carbon fiber cable is impregnated with a cold - setting low - viscosity resin bond , stretched and molded as such in a concrete body . arrangement of reinforcing members is fairly simplified in comparison with a conventional process using a composite member pre - cured with a thermosetting resin , and burial anchors are bonded to the straight carbon fiber cable at proper positions with ease . since the straight carbon fiber cable is straightened by application of a tension and molded in concrete , the pre - stressed concrete member is improved in tensile strength , fatigue properties and crack - resistance . moreover , carbon fiber cables are bonded as burial anchors to the reinforcing members instead of conventional metal fitting , so that the pre - stressed concrete member exhibits excellent corrosion - resistance even in a salty atmosphere . the pre - stressed concrete member is also handled with safe , since any part is not projected from its surface .

3Textiles; Paper

since the primary problem in raynaud &# 39 ; s is vasoconstriction of arteries and arterioles in the digits , with shunting of blood - flow away from the digits , various methods have been used to measure blood flow . these methods include plethysmography , laser doppler flowmetry ( ldf ), laser doppler imaging ( ldi ), temperature measurements ( direct digital and thermography ), and doppler ultrasonography . there is often significant individual variability , with the range of values found for normal subjects generally overlapping the range found in raynaud &# 39 ; s . there is also a concern that methods such as plethysmography , laser doppler flowmetry , direct digital temperature reading , and doppler ultrasound that require direct patient contact with the test device may disturb the patient &# 39 ; s circulation . additionally , it is difficult to ensure precise , reproducible probe placement , some of these methods have the additional issue of reproducibility if multiple readings are required from the same subject . in contrast , ldi and thermography allow a larger area to be examined , and do not involve direct patient contact , allowing more data to be collected , and minimizing variability related to direct patient contact or probe placement . while the flux gradient of ldi may correlate poorly with the temperature gradient measured by thermography , both methods are felt to provide useful information . patient report measures that are commonly used include diaries of attacks , noting frequency , severity , trigger , and duration , and a visual analogue scale ( vas ) to note pain or severity , as well as general state of their disease . skin temperature , as an indirect measure of blood flow , can be affected by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors . thermography should be done in a temperature and humidity controlled room to minimize the effects of these factors on measurements . large intra - patient variability can be found when the same patient is assayed at different times ; and an internal comparison ( ratio between distal to proximal points , or comparison between treated and placebo hands ) can be used as the measure of effect . thermography has shown that patients with raynaud &# 39 ; s have a lower baseline skin temperature than normal subjects . female raynaud &# 39 ; s patients have also been reported to have an even lower baseline than males . several treatment studies have found that a 2 ° c . or greater change in baseline temperature represents a significant change . studies have reported a significant increases in mean skin temperature after intravenous administration of calcitonin gene related peptide ( cgrp ), pgi 2 , and pge 1 , oral or sublingual nifedipine or application of nitroglycerine tape ( ntg ) placement on the wrist of patients . several investigators have used thermography to show that recovery from a cold challenge test is abnormal in patients with raynaud &# 39 ; s , with a lag in the onset of rewarming , delay in the rate of recovery , and lower temperature achieved at a set point after a cold challenge . the pattern of rewarming can also be different , with normal subjects showing rewarming beginning from the finger pulps and spreading proximally , while patients with raynaud &# 39 ; s have rewarming beginning at the base of the fingers and spreading distally . a two - fold increase in rewarming was seen 10 minutes into a cgrp , while a smaller , but still significant improvement in rewarming was found with fluoxetine . laser doppler flowmetry ( ldf ): and laser doppler imaging ( ldi ) measure moving particle density and flux , with flux used to represent blood flow . the light can penetrate about 1 mm , which permits measurements from superficial nutritional capillaries and deeper thermoregulatory vessels using different wavelengths of light . ldf requires direct contact with the study target , making it difficult to compare different sites with each other because of large variations in flux with even small positional changes , and significant intra individual variability has been found . ldi allows the entire hand to be scanned , minimizing variability between sites , but only a small number of studies have used this technique . as units reported for ldi are arbitrary , it best serves in comparison studies rather than for generating absolute standard values . a good correlation has been found between ldf and ldi . ldi has been used to assess the effect of topical glyceryl trinitrate ( gtn ) on finger flow in comparison to petroleum jelly or no treatment . a significant increase in flow has been reported immediately and ten minutes after topical gtn application . a significant increase in digital blood flow as measured by ldf has been reported after treatment with vardenafil . application of a nitric oxide - generating cream to finger pulps , ldf has been reported to significantly increase flux . removal of the gel showed a decrease in flux , but still a significant difference between no cream and placebo . sublingual nifedipine also has been reported to produce an increase in flux compared to placebo . intravenous pgi 2 has been reported to cause an increase in ldf . a cgrp infusion caused an increase ldf , along with flushing of face and hands . since raynaud &# 39 ; s attacks are typically precipitated by cold exposure , many investigators have used cold challenges to try to elicit attacks or findings typically found in attacks . however , researchers differ in their cold challenge methodology , with a range of temperatures used ( 0 ° c ., 10 ° c ., 12 ° c ., 15 ° c ., 16 ° c ., 20 ° c .,) for different durations of about 1 to 10 minutes . most studies use a temperature of 15 or 16 ° c . for 1 minute . the patient is asked to put on a thin glove that fits well , such as a latex glove , avoiding a tight fit as well as an overly loose fit that would trap air around the subject &# 39 ; s hand . the hand is then lowered into a water bath at the specified temperature for the specified time . some studies have specified lowering to the mid metacarpal level . after removal from the water bath , the gloves are removed , and the study measures assayed . temperatures and / or flow are typically measured for 10 - 20 minutes after the cold challenge . there is significant inter individual difference , but the method is felt to be useful for therapeutic studies . suitable topical prostaglandin compositions for the practice of preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 046 , 244 , 6 , 118 , 020 , 6 , 323 , 241 and no . 6 , 841 , 574 , the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein . in one preferred embodiment , the prostaglandin e composition comprises about 0 . 025 percent to about 40 percent by weight of a thickening agent ( e . g ., guar gum ); about 0 . 025 percent to about 10 percent by weight of a prostaglandin e compound , preferably pge 1 ( alprostadil ), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , about 0 . 025 to about 40 percent by weight of a ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ( c 8 - c 22 ) carboxylic ester ( e . g ., ethyl laurate ), and about 0 . 025 percent to about 40 percent by weight of an n , n - di ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkylamino substituted , ( c 4 - c 18 ) alkyl ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic ester skin penetration enhancer ( e . g ., dodecyl 2 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- propionate or a salt thereof ). prostaglandin e ( pge ) compounds have the 9 - oxo , 11α - hydroxy substituents as well as unsaturation in the side chains . the compounds of this group include prostaglandin e 1 ( pge 1 ) represented by the formula prostaglandin e 2 ( or pge 2 ) represented by the formula prostaglandin e 3 ( or pge 3 ) represented by the formula pge compounds have useful therapeutic activity as vasodilators and have been utilized to treat male and female sexual disorders , to control lipid metabolism , to treat ulcers , to treat inflammatory skin lesions , and the like therapeutic applications . pge compounds are relatively unstable , however , and tend to decompose , especially in aqueous solutions or in an aqueous environment . it has now been found however , that these compounds can be effectively stabilized in non - aqueous media that are substantially free from c 1 - c 4 alcohols and include a ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ( c 8 - c 22 ) carboxylic ester , such as ethyl laurate . the pge compositions of the invention can be combined with a suitable diluent ( e . g ., a buffered aqueous alcohol combination ) to form a topical dosage form , such as a cream , gel , ointment , and the like , prior to use . preferably , the ratio of thickening agent to ester is in the range of about 0 . 5 : 1 to about 1 . 5 : 1 . the pge compositions can be provided as a semi - solid composition in a one part dosage form , or provided as a packaged , multi - part dosage form in which an actives compartment contains the pge composition as a unit dose and a diluent compartment contains an aqueous alcohol diluent , which when combined with the pge composition forms a unit dose for a topical application . in the packaged , multi - part dosage forms embodying the present invention , the actives compartment can also contain a non - aqueous liquid bulking agent , such as a silicone oil ( e . g ., a polydimethylsiloxane , such as cyclomethicone usp , dimethicone usp , and the like ), a c 6 - c 22 alcohol ( e . g ., benzyl alcohol or a fatty alcohol ), and the like . the actives compartment , and optionally the diluent compartment , can include a thickening agent , such as a polysaccharide ( e . g ., a starch , a gum , a starch derivative , or a gum derivative ), polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyvinyl alcohol , a cellulose derivative ( e . g ., hydroxymethyl cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , and the like ), a sugar ( e . g ., lactose ), and the like . the multi - part dosage form can comprise a two compartment pouch or packet having a frangible seal between the actives compartment and the diluent compartment , such that squeezing the pouch or packet can breach the seal and allow the contents of the two compartments to combine . the pouch can then be manually kneaded to thoroughly mix and emulsify the contents , affording a cream , ointment , or gel pge topical dosage form . alternatively , a clamp or the like can be used in lieu of a frangible seal . pge 1 and pge 2 are well known to those skilled in the art . reference may be had to various literature references for its pharmacological activities , side effects and normal dosage ranges . see for example , physician &# 39 ; s desk reference , 51st ed . ( 1997 ), the merck index , 12th ed ., merck & amp ; co ., n . j . ( 1996 ), and martindale the extra pharmacopoeia , 28th ed ., london , the pharmaceutical press ( 1982 ). prostaglandin e 1 as well as other pge compounds referenced herein are intended to encompass also the pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof , including physiologically compatible salts and ester derivatives . additionally , simultaneous administration of one or more non - ecosanoid vasodilators may be desirable and may in some cases exhibit a synergistic effect . the combination of prazosin with prostaglandin e 1 has been found to be particularly advantageous in this regard . suitable non - ecosanoid vasodilators include , but are not limited to : nitrates such as nitroglycerin , isosorbide dinitrate , erythrityl tetranitrate , amyl nitrate , sodium nitroprusside , molsidomine , linsidomine chlorhydrate (“ sin - 1 ”) and s - nitroso - n - acetyl - d , l - penicillamine (“ snap ”); amino acids such as l - arginine ; long and short acting α - adrenergic blockers such as phenoxybenzamine , dibenamine , phentolamine , tamsulosin and indoramin , especially quinazoline derivatives such as alfuzosin , bunazosin , doxazosin , terazosin , prazosin , and trimazosin ; vasodilative natural herbal compositions and bioactive extracts thereof , such as gosyajinki - gan , satureja obovata , bai - hua qian - hu , lipotab , saiboku - to , vinpocetine , gingko biloba , bacopa , gynostemma pentaphyllum , gypenosides , evodia rutaeacrpa , rutaecarpine , dehydroevodiamine , dan - shen , salviae miltiorrhizae radix , shosaikoto , zizyphi fructus , ginseng and mixtures thereof ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 007 , 824 ); ergot alkaloids such as ergotamine and ergotamine analogs , e . g ., acetergamine , brazergoline , bromerguride , cianergoline , delorgotrile , disulergine , ergonovine maleate , ergotamine tartrate , etisulergine , lergotrile , lysergide , mesulergine , metergoline , metergotamine , nicergoline , pergolide , propisergide , proterguride and terguride ; antihypertensive agents such as diazoxide , hydralazine and minoxidil ; vasodilators such as nimodepine , pinacidil , cyclandelate , dipyridamole and isoxsuprine ; chlorpromazine ; haloperidol ; yohimbine ; trazodone and vasoactive intestinal peptides . the quantity of a vasoactive prostaglandin , such as prostaglandin e 1 , in the pharmaceutical composition is a therapeutically effective amount and necessarily varies according to the desired dose , the dosage form and the particular form of vasoactive prostaglandin used . the term “ prostaglandin ” as used generically herein refers to the prostaglandin free acid and pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof , including , for example prostaglandin e 1 ( pge 1 ), pharmaceutically acceptable salts and lower alkyl esters thereof ( the term “ lower alkyl ” as used herein means straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to four carbon atoms ). the composition generally contains between 0 . 001 percent to 1 percent of vasoactive prostaglandin , e . g ., prostaglandin e 1 , typically contains between 0 . 05 percent to 1 percent , preferably from 0 . 1 percent to 0 . 5 percent , based on the total weight of the composition . the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention preferably are utilized to provide packaged , multi - part dosage forms in which an actives compartment contains the prostaglandin e composition as a unit dose and a diluent compartment contains an aqueous alcohol diluent , which when combined with the prostaglandin e composition forms a unit dose for a topical application . in the packaged , multi - part dosage forms embodying the present invention , the actives compartment can also contain a non - aqueous liquid bulking agent , such as a silicone oil ( e . g ., a polydimethylsiloxane , such as cyclomethicone usp , dimethicone usp , and the like ), a c 6 - c 22 alcohol ( e . g ., benzyl alcohol or a fatty alcohol ), and the like . the actives compartment , and optionally the diluent compartment , can include a thickening agent , such as a polysaccharide ( e . g ., a starch , a gum , a starch derivative , or a gum derivative ), polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyvinyl alcohol , a cellulose derivative ( e . g ., hydroxymethyl cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , and the like ), a sugar ( e . g ., lactose ), and the like . the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention preferably are utilized to provide packaged , multi - part dosage forms in which an actives compartment contains the prostaglandin e composition as a unit dose and a diluent compartment contains an aqueous alcohol diluent , which when combined with the prostaglandin e composition forms a unit dose for a topical application . in the packaged , multi - part dosage forms embodying the present invention , the actives compartment can also contain a non - aqueous liquid bulking agent , such as a silicone oil ( e . g ., a polydimethylsiloxane , such as cyclomethicone usp , dimethicone usp , and the like ), a c 6 - c 22 alcohol ( e . g ., benzyl alcohol or a fatty alcohol ), and the like . the actives compartment , and optionally the diluent compartment , can include a thickening agent , such as a polysaccharide ( e . g ., a starch , a gum , a starch derivative , or a gum derivative ), polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyvinyl alcohol , a cellulose derivative ( e . g ., hydroxymethyl cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , and the like ), a sugar ( e . g ., lactose ), and the like . the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention include a skin penetration enhancer , which is an n , n - di ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkylamino substituted , ( c 4 - c 18 ) alkyl ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic esters or pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof . as used herein , the term “( c 4 - c 18 ) alkyl ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic ester ” means an ester of a ( c 4 - c 18 ) alcohol and a ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic acid . the term “ n , n - di ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkylamino substituted ,” in reference to a ( c 4 - c 18 ) alkyl ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic ester means that either the alcohol portion or the carboxylic acid portion from which the ester is prepared bears an amino substituent nr x r y , wherein r x and r y are each independently a ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkyl group . preferably r x and r y are both methyl groups . preferred n , n - di ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkylamino substituted , ( c 4 - c 18 ) alkyl ( c 2 - c 18 ) carboxylic esters are dodecyl - 2 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- propionate ( ddaip ); dodecyl - 2 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- acetate ( ddaa ); 1 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 2 - propyl dodecanoate ( daipd ); 1 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 2 - propyl myristate ( daipm ); 1 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 2 - propyl oleate ( daipo ); and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof . particularly preferred is ddaip , alone or in combination with an auxiliary permeation enhancer . ddaip is available from steroids , ltd . ( chicago , ill .). the preparation of ddaip and crystalline acid addition salts thereof is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 118 , 020 to büyüktimkin , et al ., which is incorporated herein by reference . long chain similar amino substituted , alkyl carboxylic esters can be synthesized from readily available compounds as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 980 , 378 to wong , et al ., which is incorporated herein by reference . such amino - substituted carboxylic ester penetration enhancers are also sometimes referred to as alkyl - 2 -( n - substituted amino )- alkanoates and ( n - substituted amino )- alkanol alkanoates . for convenient reference , alkyl - 2 -( n - substituted amino )- alkanoates and ( n - substituted amino )- alkanol alkanoates can be grouped together under the term alkyl ( n - substituted amino ) esters . the penetration enhancer is present in an amount sufficient to enhance the penetration of the prostaglandin e compound into tissue . the specific amount varies necessarily according to the desired release rate and specific form of prostaglandin e compound used . generally , this amount is in the range of about 0 . 01 percent to about 20 percent , based on the total weight of a topical dosage is prepared by mixing a prostaglandin e composition of the invention and an aqueous alcoholic diluent , as described herein . natural and modified polysaccharides ( e . g ., gums ) can be utilized as a viscosity enhancing agent for the prostaglandin e composition . such thickening agent can optionally be present in the diluent or in both the prostaglandin e composition and the diluent . suitable representative gums are the natural and modified galactomannan gums . a galactomannan gum is a carbohydrate polymer containing d - galactose and d - mannose units , or other derivatives of such a polymer . there is a relatively large number of galactomannans , which vary in composition depending on their origin . the galactomannan gum is characterized by a linear structure of β - d - mannopyranosyl units linked ( 1 -& gt ; 4 ). single membered α - d - mannopyranosyl units , linked ( 1 -& gt ; 6 ) with the main chain , are present as side branches . galactomannan gums include guar gum , which is the pulverized endosperm of the seed of either of two leguminous plants ( cyamposis tetragonalobus and psoraloids ) and locust bean gum , which is found in the endosperm of the seeds of the carob tree ( ceratonia siliqua ). suitable modified polysaccharide gums include ethers of natural or substituted polysaccharide gums , such as carboxylmethyl ethers , ethylene glycol ethers and propylene glycol ethers . other suitable representative gums include agar gum , carrageenan gum , ghatti gum , karaya gum , rhamsan gum and xanthan gum . the composition of the present invention may contain a mixture of various gums , or mixture of gums and acidic polymers . gums , and galactomannan gums in particular , are well - known materials . see for instance , industrial gums : polysaccharides & amp ; their derivatives , whistler r . l . and bemiller j . n . ( eds . ), 3 rd ed . academic press ( 1992 ) and davidson r . l ., handbook of water - soluble gums and resin , mcgraw - hill , inc ., n . y . ( 1980 ). most gums are commercially available in various forms , commonly a powder , and ready for use in food and topical compositions . for example , locust bean gum in powdered form is available from tic gums inc . ( belcam , md .). thickening agents preferably are present in the range of about 0 . 025 to about 40 percent by weight in the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention , and about 0 . 1 percent to about 5 percent by weight , based on the total weight of a topical dosage form prepared by mixing a prostaglandin e composition and diluent . the preferred range of thickening agent present in the topical dosage form is about 0 . 5 percent to 3 percent . alternative thickening agents include cross - linked polyacrylic acid polymers and cellulose derivatives ( e . g ., carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxymethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , and the like ). a common variety of polyacrylic acid polymer is known generically as “ carbomer .” carbomer is polyacrylic acid polymers lightly cross - linked with polyalkenyl polyether . it is commercially available from the b . f . goodrich company ( akron , ohio ) under the designation “ carbopol ®.” a particularly preferred variety of carbomer is that designated as “ carbopol ® 940 .” other polyacrylic acid polymers suitable for use are those commercially available under the designation “ pemulen ™” ( b . f . goodrich company ) and “ polycarbophil ™” ( a . h . robbins , richmond , va .). the pemulen ™ polymers are copolymers of c 10 to c 30 alkyl acrylates and one or more monomers of acrylic acid , methacrylic acid or one of their simple esters cross - linked with an allyl ether of sucrose or an allyl ether of pentaerythritol . the polycarbophil ™ product is polyacrylic acid cross - linked with divinyl glycol . where polyacrylic acid polymers are present , they represent about 0 . 5 percent to about 5 percent of the composition , based on its total weight . the concentration of ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ( c 8 - c 22 ) carboxylic ester ( e . g ., ethyl laurate , isopropyl myristate , isopropyl laurate , or a mixture of two or more thereof ) in the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention necessarily varies according to various factors such as the desired semi - solid consistency and the desired skin penetration promoting effects . suitably , the concentration of ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ( c 8 - c 22 ) carboxylic ester is the range of about 0 . 025 percent to about 40 percent by weight based on the total weight of the prostaglandin e composition . the preferred composition contains a ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ( c 8 - c 22 ) carboxylic ester in the range of about 0 . 5 percent to about 35 percent by weight based on the total weight of the prostaglandin e composition . an optional , but preferred , component is an emulsifier , which can be present in the prostaglandin e composition or in the diluent . a suitable emulsifier generally exhibits a hydrophilic - lipophilic balance number greater than 10 . sucrose esters , and specifically sucrose stearate , can serve as emulsifiers for the composition . sucrose stearate is a well - known emulsifier available from various commercial sources . when an emulsifier is used , sucrose stearate , present in an amount up to about 2 percent , based on the total weight of the composition , is preferred . the preferred amount of sucrose stearate emulsifier can also be expressed as a weight ratio of emulsifier to polysaccharide gum . other suitable emulsifiers are the polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters , long chain alcohols , preferably cetostearyl alcohol , and fatty acid glycerides . suitable polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters include the monolaurate ( tween ® 20 , span ® 20 ) the monopalmitate ( tween ® 40 ), the monostearate ( tween ® 60 ), and the monooleate ( tween ® 80 ) and mixtures thereof . preferred fatty acid glycerides include glyceryl monooleate , triolein , trimyristin and tristearin . another optional ingredient is an antifoam agent , a chemical that reduces the tendency of the finished preparation to generate foam on shaking or agitation . silicones are the preferred antifoam agents ; however , a wide variety of alcohols and lipids exhibit similar properties . with the exception of alcohols , the selected antifoam agent must be effective in relatively small concentrations , and are employed in trace amounts . illustrative antifoam agents are dimethicone , cetyl dimethicone , dimethicone silylate , dimethiconol , a mixture of dimethicone and hydrated silica , isopropyl alcohol , hexyl alcohol , trimethylsiloxysilicate , triphenyl trimethicone and the like . a particularly preferred antifoam agent is a mixture of dimethicone with an average chain length of 200 to 300 dimethylsiloxane units and hydrated silica , commercially available under the designation simethicone ® usp from dow corning corporation , michigan . the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention are substantially free from c 1 - c 4 alcohols ( e . g ., methanol , ethanol , and the like ). it has been found that lower alkyl alcohols , such as ethanol , can lead to degradation of prostaglandin e compounds during storage for prolonged periods of time ( e . g ., weeks to months ). as used herein , the phrase “ substantially free from c 1 - c 4 alcohols ” means that the compositions do not contain a destabilizing amount of lower alkyl alcohols . preferably , the compositions contain not more than trace levels of lower alkyl alcohols , which may be present as a byproduct or contaminant from one or more of the components of the prostaglandin e composition ( e . g ., trace ethanol from ethyl laurate ). typically , the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention include not more than about 0 . 5 percent by weight of c 1 - c 4 alcohols prior to mixing with a diluent . aqueous alcoholic diluents useful for mixing with the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention can include one or more buffering agents ( i . e ., buffer systems ), if desired . buffer systems are chosen to maintain or buffer the ph of compositions within a desired range . the term “ buffer system ” or “ buffer ” as used herein refers to a solute agent or agents which , when in a water solution , stabilize such solution against a major change in ph ( or hydrogen ion concentration or activity ) when acids or bases are added thereto . solute agent or agents , which are thus responsible for a resistance or change in ph from a starting buffered ph value in the range indicated above are well known . while there are countless suitable buffers , potassium phosphate buffers ( e . g ., potassium phosphate monohydrate , kh 2 po 4 n . f ., and the like ) have proven effective for compositions of the present invention and are preferred . the final ph value of the topical composition prepared by the combination of prostaglandin e composition and diluent may vary within the physiological compatible range . necessarily , the final ph value is one not irritating to human skin and preferably such that transdermal transport of the prostaglandin e compound is facilitated . without violating this constraint , the ph may be selected to improve prostaglandin e compound stability and to adjust consistency when required . in one embodiment , the preferred ph value is about 3 . 0 to about 7 . 4 , more preferably about 3 . 0 to about 6 . 5 , most preferably from about 3 . 5 to about 6 . 0 . preferably , the water present in the diluent is purified , e . g ., deionized water . the diluent preferably contains water in the range of more than about 5 to about 95 percent by weight based on the total weight of the diluent . the specific amount of water present is not critical , however , being adjustable to obtain the desired viscosity ( usually about 50 cps to about 30 , 000 cps ) and / or concentration of the combination when mixed with the prostaglandin e composition . the topical composition formed by mixing the prostaglandin e composition and diluent preferably has a viscosity of at least about 30 centipoise . viscosity enhancing agents can be included to afford the desired level of viscosity . the diluent also preferably includes up to about 95 percent by weight of a c 1 - c 4 alcohol ( e . g ., ethanol ). prostaglandin e compound stabilizers and excipients , such as organic acids and alcohols , cyclodextrins , coloring agents , rheological agents , and preservatives can be added to the extent that they do not limit the stability or penetration of the prostaglandin e compound . the ingredients listed above may be combined in any order and manner that produces a composition for ultimately receiving the prostaglandin e compound , such as prostaglandin e 1 and the like , preferably substantially evenly dispersed throughout . methods of mixing and compounding pharmaceutical compositions , such as the prostaglandin e compositions of the invention , are well known in the art . a preferred diluent for use in a two - part packaged dosage form of the invention comprises 1 to about 20 percent by weight ethanol , 80 to 99 percent by weight water , and a suitable amount of one or more buffering agent to maintain a desired physiologically compatible ph in a topical dosage form prepared by combining the prostaglandin e composition and diluent . variations in the treating compositions which do not adversely affect the effectiveness of the prostaglandin e compound would be evident to one skilled in the art , and are within the scope of this invention . for example , additional ingredients such as coloring agents , anti - microbial preservatives , emulsifiers , lubricants , perfumes , prostaglandin e compound stabilizers , and the like , may be included as long as the resulting preparation retains desirable properties , as described above . when present , preservatives are usually added in amounts of about 0 . 05 to about 0 . 30 %. suitable preservatives include methylparabens ( methyl paba ), propylparabens ( propyl paba ) and butylhydroxy toluene ( bht ). a fragrance can be included in the composition in an amount up to about 5 percent by weight , based on the total weight of the composition . suitable perfumes and fragrances are known in the art . a non - limiting example of a suitable fragrance is myrtenol , preferably utilized in an amount of up to about 2 percent by weight . the compositions of the present invention can also include a small amount ( e . g ., about 0 . 01 to about 4 percent by weight ) of a topical anesthetic , if desired . typical topical anesthetics include lidocaine , benzocaine , dyclonine , dibucaine , pharmaceutically acceptable salts and mixtures thereof . in one preferred embodiment , the topical anesthetic is about 0 . 5 percent dyclonine , based on the weight of the composition . an illustrative two - component dosage form is set forth in table 1 , below : if desired , preservatives such as methyl paraben , propyl paraben , benzalkonium chloride , benzethonium chloride , and the like , can be included in the pge composition and / or the diluent , as well . the prostaglandin e composition and diluent can be combined with agitation to form a topical prostaglandin e dosage form . in another embodiment , compounds of prostaglandin e group are stabilized as non - aqueous compositions that include the compound together with a bulking agent that can be a non - aqueous liquid , or a solid in sheet , film , or powder form . optionally , a skin penetration enhancer can be present . suitable such compositions are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 841 , 574 , which is incorporated herein by reference . such a preferred non - aqueous , solid dosage form comprises a compound of prostaglandin e group substantially uniformly distributed in a carrier sheet or film . a predetermined size portion of this sheet or film can be applied to the surface of a moistened body part or introduced directly into a moist body cavity to release the prostaglandin compound . alternatively a predetermined size portion of the sheet or film that includes a prostaglandin compound can be dissolved in an aqueous or non - aqueous solvent that serves as a physiologically compatible delivery vehicle for the prostaglandin compound . for topical applications , the topical delivery vehicle is viscous and substantially non - flowing , such as a cream , gel , or ointment . prostaglandin e compounds can be incorporated as substantially uniformly distributed solids in a sheet - form material , i . e ., sheet or film , of a physiologically compatible polymeric material , e . g ., a cellulosic ether such as hydroxypropyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , and the like , a polysaccharide such as starch , polyvinylpyrrolidone , and the like . sheet - form materials having a thickness of no more than about 10 mils are commonly referred to as films , and those having a thickness of more than about 10 mils are commonly referred to as sheets . the term “ sheet - form ” as used herein and in the appended claims refers to sheets as well as films . the sheet - form material can be a solid or a porous material , e . g ., a sponge or the like . the sheet - form material containing a prostaglandin e compound dispersed therein can be converted into discs , tablets , pellets , and the like , if desired . these sheet - form articles of manufacture can be water soluble for direct introduction into moist body cavities or soluble in a non - aqueous physiologically compatible solvent for the preparation of a cream or ointment suitable for topical application . the water soluble moiety of the prostaglandin - bearing sheet - form material can also be utilized , of course , for the preparation of aqueous gels based on a polycarbophil , a polyoxyethylene - polyoxypropylene block copolymer , e . g ., the so - called poloxamers , and on mixtures thereof , as well as non - aqueous gels based on the polysorbates , liquid block copolymers of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide , and the like . if desired , the prostaglandin e compound - bearing sheet form materials of the present invention can also include physiologically compatible plasticizers , solubility enhancers ( e . g ., hydroxypropyl - beta - cyclodextrin ), and the like . these prostaglandin e - bearing sheet - form materials can be prepared by first forming a solution of the desired prostaglandin e compound in a non - aqueous solvent such as a c 2 to c 4 aliphatic alcohol , e . g ., methanol , ethanol , propanol , isopropanol , n - butanol and the like , together with the polymeric material , with or without a skin penetration enhancer , then casting the solution continuously on a roll or batchwise in a shallow dish or pan , and thereafter evaporating the solvent therefrom . the resulting sheet or film has the prostaglandin e compound substantially uniformly distributed throughout in an non - aqueous medium that can be readily subdivided and apportioned into desired unit doses each having a predetermined pge content . the cast sheet or film can also be retained on a solid surface for storage and dissolved immediately prior to use . in other embodiments , the prostaglandin e compound is incorporated in a transdermal patch . suitable transdermal patches are disclosed , for example in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 480 , 648 and u . s . pat . no . 7 , 087 , 240 . the foregoing unit doses can be utilized to provide packaged , paired compartment dosage forms in which an actives compartment contains the prostaglandin e compound unit dose and an inerts compartment contains the delivery vehicle for a topical application . in the packaged , paired - compartment dosage forms embodying the present invention , the actives compartment can also contain the prostaglandin e compound together with a bulking agent in a non - aqueous liquid , particulate or granular form . suitable liquid bulking agents are silicone oils such as the polydimethylsiloxanes , e . g ., cyclomethicone usp , dimethicone usp , and the like . suitable solid bulking agents for this particular purpose are the cyclodextrins such as hydroxypropyl - beta - cyclodextrin , beta cyclodextrin , gamma cyclodextrin , and the like , the polysaccharides such as starches , gums , and the like polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyvinyl alcohol , the methyl celluloses , sugars , and the like . a particularly preferred present solid dosage form comprises at least one pge compound , preferably pge 1 , and an alkyl ( n - substituted amino ) ester , both substantially uniformly distributed in the carrier sheet or admixed with one another in an actives compartment of a packaged paired - compartment dosage form . pge 1 and pge 2 are particularly preferred vasoactive agents for the present purposes . among the suitable penetration enhancers for use in the present solid dosage forms dodecyl 2 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- propionate and crystalline salts thereof are generally preferred . the preparation of such crystalline salts is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 118 , 020 to büyüktimkin et al . the penetration enhancer is present in an amount sufficient to enhance the penetration of the prostaglandin e compound into tissue . the specific amount varies necessarily according to the desired release rate and specific form of prostaglandin e compound used . generally , this amount is in the range of about 0 . 01 percent to about 20 percent , based on the total weight of the composition . the desired release rate , including controlled or sustained release of the active compound can also be modulated by selection of the topical delivery vehicle , e . g ., a hydrophobic vehicle such as polydimethylsiloxanes and the like . carboxy - terminated polydimethylsiloxanes can also enhance skin permeation by the active compound . natural and modified polysaccharide gums can also be present as part of the carrier sheet or the topical delivery vehicle . suitable representative gums are the natural and modified galactomannan gums , as described above . suitable modified polysaccharide gums include ethers of natural or substituted polysaccharide gums , such as carboxylmethyl ethers , ethylene glycol ethers and propylene glycol ethers . when present , the polysaccharide gums are present in the range of about 0 . 1 percent to about 5 percent , based on the total weight of the composition , with the preferred range being in the range of about 0 . 5 percent to 3 percent . in one preferred embodiment , about 2 . 5 percent by weight of a polysaccharide gum is present . an optional alternative to the polysaccharide gum is a polyacrylic acid polymer , as described above . the concentration of lipophilic compound required necessarily varies according to other factors such as the desired semi - solid consistency and the desired skin penetration promoting effects . suitably the concentration of lipophilic compound is the range of about 0 . 5 percent to about 40 percent by weight based on the total weight of the composition . the preferred topical composition contains lipophilic compound in the range of about 7 percent to about 40 percent by weight based on the total weight of the composition . where a mixture of aliphatic alcohol and aliphatic ester are employed , the suitable amount of alcohol is in the range of about 0 . 5 percent to about 75 percent . in one preferred embodiment , the amount of alcohol is in the range of about 5 percent to about 15 percent , while that of aliphatic ester is in the range of about 2 percent to about 15 percent ( again based on the total weight of the composition ). in another preferred embodiment , the amount of alcohol is in the range of about 0 . 5 percent to about 10 percent , while that of aliphatic ester is in the range from zero percent to about 10 percent ( again based on the total weight of the composition ). an optional , but preferred , component is an emulsifier . a suitable emulsifier generally exhibits a hydrophilic - lipophilic balance number greater than 10 . sucrose esters , and specifically sucrose stearate , can serve as emulsifiers for the composition . sucrose stearate is a well - known emulsifier available from various commercial sources . when an emulsifier is used , sucrose stearate , present in an amount up to about 2 percent , based on the total weight of the composition , is preferred . the preferred amount of sucrose stearate emulsifier can also be expressed as a weight ratio of emulsifier to polysaccharide gum . other suitable emulsifiers are the polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters , long chain alcohols , preferably cetostearyl alcohol , and fatty acid glycerides . suitable polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters include the monolaurate ( tween ® 20 , span 20 ) the monopalmitate ( tween ® 40 ), the monostearate ( tween ® 60 ), and the monooleate ( tween ® 80 ) and mixtures thereof . preferred fatty acid glycerides include glyceryl monooleate , triolein , trimyristin and tristearin . another optional ingredient is an antifoam agent , a chemical that reduces the tendency of the finished preparation to generate foam on shaking or agitation . the composition can include a buffer system , if desired . buffer systems are chosen to maintain or buffer the ph of compositions within a desired range . the term “ buffer system ” or “ buffer ” as used herein refers to a solute agent or agents which , when in a water solution , stabilize such solution against a major change in ph ( or hydrogen ion concentration or activity ) when acids or bases are added thereto . solute agent or agents which are thus responsible for a resistance or change in ph from a starting buffered ph value in the range indicated above are well known . while there are countless suitable buffers , potassium phosphate monohydrate has proven effective for compositions of the present invention and is preferred . the final ph value of the pharmaceutical composition may vary within the physiological compatible range . necessarily , the final ph value is one not irritating to human skin and preferably such that transdermal transport of the prostaglandin e compound is facilitated . without violating this constraint , the ph may be selected to improve prostaglandin e compound stability and to adjust consistency when required . in one embodiment , the preferred ph value is about 3 . 0 to about 7 . 4 , more preferably about 3 . 0 to about 6 . 5 , most preferably from about 3 . 5 to about 6 . 0 . for preferred topical delivery vehicles the remaining component of the composition is water , which is necessarily purified , e . g ., deionized water . such delivery vehicle compositions contain water in the range of more than about 50 to about 95 percent , based on the total weight of the composition . the specific amount of water present is not critical , however , being adjustable to obtain the desired viscosity ( usually about 50 cps to about 10 , 000 cps ) and / or concentration of the other components . the topical delivery vehicle preferably has a viscosity of at least about 30 centipoises . prostaglandin e compound stabilizers such as organic acids and alcohols , cyclodextrins , coloring agents , rheological agents , and preservatives can be added to the extent that they do not limit penetration of the prostaglandin e compound . the ingredients listed above may be combined in any order and manner that produces a composition for ultimately receiving the prostaglandin e compound , such as pge 1 and the like , preferably substantially evenly dispersed throughout . one available approach to preparing such compositions involves evenly dispersing the polysaccharide gum ( or polyacrylic acid ) in a premixed water / buffer solution and then thoroughly homogenizing ( i . e ., mixing ) the resulting mixture . when present , the emulsifier is added to the water / buffer solution before aspersing the polysaccharide gum . any suitable method of adjusting ph value to the desired level may be used , for example , by adding concentrated phosphoric acid or sodium hydroxide . the prostaglandin e compound , with or without a penetration enhancer , is then combined therewith prior to use with mixing . in one embodiment , a preparation ready for application comprises about 0 . 01 percent to about 5 percent modified polysaccharide gum ; about 0 . 001 percent to about 1 percent of a prostaglandin e compound , preferably pge 1 , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , a lower alkyl ester thereof and mixtures thereof ; about 0 . 5 percent to about 10 percent dodecyl 2 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- propionate or a salt thereof ; about 0 . 5 percent to about 10 percent of a lower alcohol selected from the group consisting of ethanol , propanol , isopropanol and mixtures thereof ; about 0 . 5 percent to about 10 percent on an ester selected from the group consisting of ethyl laurate , isopropyl myristate , isopropyl laurate and mixture thereof ; based on the weight of the preparation , together with an acid buffer . preferably the preparation also comprises up to about 2 percent by weight sucrose stearate . variations in the treating compositions which do not adversely affect the effectiveness of the prostaglandin e compound would be evident to one skilled in the art , and are within the scope of this invention . for example , additional ingredients such as coloring agents , anti - microbial preservatives , emulsifiers , lubricants , perfumes , prostaglandin e compound stabilizers , and the like , may be included as long as the resulting preparation retains desirable properties , as described above . when present , preservatives are usually added in amounts of about 0 . 05 to about 0 . 30 %. suitable preservatives include methylparabens ( methyl paba ), propylparabens ( propyl paba ) and butylhydroxy toluene ( bht ). suitable perfumes and fragrances are known in the art ; a suitable fragrance is up to about 5 percent and fragrances are known in the art ; a suitable fragrance is up to about 5 percent myrtenol , preferably about 2 percent myrtenol , based on the total weight of the composition . the compositions of the present invention can also include a small amount , about 0 . 01 to about 4 percent by weight , of a topical anesthetic , if desired . typical topical anesthetics include lidocaine , benzocaine , dyclonine , dibucaine , pharmaceutically acceptable salts and mixtures thereof . in one preferred embodiment , the topical anesthetic is about 0 . 5 percent dyclonine , based on the weight of the composition . a placebo controlled study was performed in an animal model of raynaud &# 39 ; s disease to examine the effect of application of a topical prostaglandin e 1 composition in response to a 16 ° c . cold challenge . the results showed that topical application of a composition containing 0 . 22 weight percent prostaglandin e 1 produced a substantial increase in blood flow . female hairless rats ( about 250 g , harlan laboratories , inc ., indianapolis , ind .) were used for the test and placebo groups ( ten rats per group ). the test and placebo compositions having the ingredients list in table 2 , above , were prepared and stored at 4 ° c . the rats were placed in restraint , and test composition or placebo composition that had been allowed to come to room temperature was applied to the entire tail of each rat 10 minutes before the cold challenge , the test group receiving the test composition at a dose of 220 μg of alprostadil , and the control group receiving the placebo composition . the cold challenge was performed by submerging the tails into a 16 ° c . cold water bath . blood flow and temperature of the skin at the base of the tail were measured using a laser doppler flowmeter and an infrared thermometer at the following times : before application of the cream ( t minus 10 minutes ), 10 minutes after the application of the cream ( immediately before the start of the cold challenge at t 0 ), and at 30 , 60 , and 90 minutes after the start of the 16 ° c . ( 60 . 8 ° f .) cold challenge . when making the measurements , the tail was removed from the water bath and wiped dry before the blood flow and temperature were measured . the tails were replaced in the water bath immediately after the measurements were made . the results of the study are presented in fig1 and fig2 . fig1 is a graphical representation of the results of a study of the effects of a topical prostaglandin composition on peripheral blood flow in response to a 16 ° c . cold challenge . the mean tail blood flow ( as electric flux = v * m ) and the standard error of the mean are plotted against time for treatment with the test alprostadil composition ( filed triangles ) and the placebo composition ( filled squares ). a significant increase in blood flow is seen in the alprostadil treated group that peaks at 60 minutes . fig2 is a graphical representation of the results of a study of the effects of a topical prostaglandin composition on peripheral temperature in response to a 16 ° c . ( 60 . 8 ° f .) cold challenge . both test and placebo groups showed a similar reduction in tail temperature that approached that of the water bath when the animals treated with the alprostadil composition produced a substantial increase in blood flow compared to the control group ( compare fig1 and fig2 at 30 , 60 and 90 minutes ). a randomized , placebo ( vehicle ) controlled , double blind cross - over designed dose ranging study trial is performed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of alprostadil alprostadil for raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis he ability of a test compound to increase blood flow in the fingers of study subjects the primary objective is to decrease a composite index for raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon ( including raynaud &# 39 ; s condition score ( rcs ), patient global assessment , physician global assessment , attack frequency , attack duration and attack symptom . score ( pain , numbness and tingling ) in patients with raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis following treatment with topical alprostadil across a range of doses for 4 week in - life period and to determine the optimal dose for clinical usage . secondary objectives include assessments of tolerability as well as other clinical measures of quality of life and subject functional status as well as pilot information regarding clinical effects on healing and prevention of digital tip ischemic ulceration . substudies include assay of 15 - keto - pg after both acute and chronic dosing ( pharmacokinetics ) as well as laser doppler velocimetry studies of digital perfusion during cold challenge to clarify physiologic effects ( pharmacodynamics ). this is a phase 3 multicenter , prospective , randomized , double - blind , within - cohort crossover design study of topical alprostadil in subjects with raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis . the subjects , principal investigator ( pi ), clinical staff and medical monitor remain blinded to study drug administration . eligible subjects who provide informed consent are randomized to one of three treatment groups : group 1 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 33 % w / w in 50 mg of cream ( 165 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 33 % w / w in 50 mg of cream ( 165 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 990 μg alprostadil applied daily . group 2 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 112 . 5 mg of cream ( 472 . 5 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 112 . 5 mg of cream ( 472 . 5 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 2835 μg alprostadil applied daily group 3 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 225 mg of cream ( 945 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 225 mg of cream ( 945 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 5670 μg alprostadil applied daily the order of treatments , placebo vs active study drug , is randomized . subjects are observed for one week prior to receiving placebo ( vehicle cream ). after two weeks of self - administration of topical placebo cream ( vehicle ), subjects self - administer topical active study drug or placebo at their assigned dose . after four weeks of active treatment , subjects have a two week wash - out period . following the wash - out period , subjects cross - over to the other treatment ( placebo or assigned dose of active study drug ) for four weeks . subjects then cease therapy and are followed for two weeks ( refer to table 3 ). the schedule of assessments is presented in table 4 , below . group 1 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 33 % w / w in 50 mg of cream ( 165 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 33 % w / w in 50 mg of cream ( 165 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 990 μg alprostadil applied daily . group 2 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 112 . 5 mg of cream ( 472 . 5 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 112 . 5 mg of cream ( 472 . 5 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 2835 μg alprostadil applied daily group 3 : placebo run - in ; alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 225 mg of cream ( 945 μg alprostadil ) or placebo applied to each hand three times daily ; wash - out ; placebo or alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 225 mg of cream ( 945 μg alprostadil ) applied to each hand three times daily , resulting in a total dose of 5670 μg alprostadil applied daily . subjects are evaluated in the clinic prior to receiving the next study drug regimen . if subjects tolerate the treatment regimen , subjects proceed to the next phase of therapy . safety is assessed by recording the occurrence of adverse events ( aes ), as well as by changes in vital signs , laboratory data and physical examinations . 1 ) alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 33 % w / w in 100 mg of cream ( 330 μg alprostadil ). 2 ) alprostadil topical cream , 0 . 42 % w / w in 225 mg of cream ( 945 μg alprostadil ). 3 ) matching placebo cream applied as a single application to both hands three times daily . 1 . males or females 18 to 70 years of age . 2 . active raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon defined as episodic digital pallor with / or without following cyanosis and / or erythema in response to environmental cold or emotional stress . 3 . diagnosis of systemic sclerosis by fulfilling the preliminary classification criteria of the american college of rheumatology . 4 . at least seven episodes of raynaud &# 39 ; s phenomenon per week during one week of patient diary . 5 . clinically stable disease and stable use of other raynaud &# 39 ; s therapies including calcium channel blockers and type v phosphodiesterase inhibitors over the previous two months . 6 . stable immunosuppressant treatment over 3 months . 7 . willing and able to provide written informed consent ; where permitted , a subject &# 39 ; s legally authorized representative may provide written informed consent . 8 . negative pregnancy test within 1 week prior to dosing in women of childbearing potential ( defined as not amenorrheic for & gt ; 2 years or not surgically sterilized ). 9 . willing and able to comply with all study procedures and restrictions . 10 . adequate hand function to be able to self - administer the study composition . 1 . current smoker or use of nicotine products . former smokers must have stopped & gt ; 6 months prior to study entry . 2 . history of stroke , myocardial infarction , life - threatening arrhythmia , uncontrolled hypertension , systemic blood pressure & lt ; 100 / 60 , uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or unstable angina . 3 . hepatic cirrhosis , active hepatitis , acute or chronic renal insufficiency . 4 . history of upper extremity surgical sympathectomy within the previous six months . 5 . active alcoholism or drug abuse within the previous 5 years . 6 . pregnant or breast feeding or considering pregnancy in the next 4 months 7 . past or present major psychiatric illness . 8 . participation in another investigational drug study within the previous 30 days . 9 . use of any oral , inhaled or parenteral prostacyclins within the previous 6 months . subjects excluded for any of the reasons listed above may be re - screened for participation at any time following consultation with the pi and sponsor if the exclusion criteria have changed . outcome measures include laser doppler imaging ( ldi ) of the dorsum of hands and fingers for both placebo and test composition - treated hands . the same wavelength , scanning speed , scanning distance , dc values , and image normalization is used for all patients . measurements are made from discrete regions of a finger and hand or average measurements of entire digit ( s ). ldi data collected from discrete outlined areas on the dorsum of the finger and dorsum of hand are averaged , or a ratio between distal vs . proximal flow is calculated . where average measurements of digit ( s ) are performed the mean cutaneous flow in the entire finger from the base of the phalanx , up to and including the nailbed , is used . ldi is performed at several time points . baseline measurements are taken after equilibration in room temperature , 10 minutes later , just prior to the application of the test composition , immediately after application of test composition , 5 minutes and 10 minutes after application of the test composition ; the 10 minute measurement point is immediately prior to the cold challenge , immediately after the cold challenge , and at several time points ( 5 ′, 10 ′, 15 ′, 20 ′, 30 ′, 1 hour , 3 hour , 6 hour ) after the cold challenge . infrared computerized thermography is done on the both the dorsal and volar surface of both hands immediately following ldi , taking measurements at the same time points listed . proximal - distal differences are noted . prior studies have detected differences between the dorsum of the fingertips versus the dorsum of the hand in patients with raynaud &# 39 ; s disease . patient reports are also recorded at the time points listed above , including a visual analogue scale ( vas ) pain report and sensations such as numbness , tingling , burning , cold , pain , greasiness . when the above patient reports are taken , the patient &# 39 ; s heart rate and blood pressure are also recorded . ldi and thermography measurements are compared between the test composition and placebo treated fingers . depending upon the patient &# 39 ; s response , it may be better to compare the corresponding fingers individually rather than averaging the measurements for all the fingers on one hand compared to the average measurements of all the fingers on the other hand . the vasospasm of raynaud &# 39 ; s disease can selectively occur in a subset of fingers or parts of the finger . if measurements are made of the distal and proximal portion of the hand , then the ratio of these values can be compared . areas that respond to treatment should have a ratio closer to 1 , while in the typical raynaud &# 39 ; s disease attack , the ratio would be & lt ; 1 . baseline temperature changes of 2 ° c . or greater have been found to be significant in other studies . the test composition and placebo composition are provided in identical packages except for identifying numbers . two examiners / technicians who are blinded as to package content simultaneously apply one of the study compositions to each hand . the study compositions are applied to the entire hand , including the web spaces , with a room temperature applicator , without rubbing , to minimize any heat transfer . laser doppler velocimetry measures during controlled cold challenge to assess effects on digital perfusion the intent - to - treat ( itt ) population includes all randomized subjects . the modified intent - to - treat ( mitt ) population includes all randomized subjects who received any amount of study drug . the disclosure of every patent , patent application , and publication cited herein is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety .

0Human Necessities

fig1 provides illustration of a thermostat apparatus 100 incorporating components and controls for controlling a heat pump 104 with resistive coils 105 for use in heating a room or “ conditioned space ” 120 . a temperature sensor 102 and an occupancy sensor 103 are installed appropriate in the room to be able to measure the room temperature and to monitor motion in determining occupancy or no occupancy . the temperature sensor and the occupancy sensor are illustrated as sending signals 106 and 107 to the thermostat apparatus . these sensors may also be incorporated in the thermostat apparatus itself , or attached to or included in the packaging of the thermostat apparatus . in most cases , the thermostat apparatus incorporating the sensors is packaged as a single unit and installed in the conditioned room or space in a good location for monitoring temperature and / or occupancy . the thermostat apparatus as shown in fig1 includes a mechanism for maintaining a desired room temperature ( setpoint ) which is labeled in the “ figure as a room temperature maintenance mechanism ” 113 . the room temperature maintenance mechanism turns on and off the heat pump and / or resistive coils using signals 108 and 109 which are labeled “ heat pump control output ” and “ resistive heat control output ” respectively . for purposes of discussion of certain illustrated embodiments of the invention fig1 includes also a “ temperature recovery mechanism ” 114 , a “ setpoint temperature setting mechanism ” 115 , and a “ reduced temperature setpoint adjustment apparatus ” 116 . the thermostat apparatus as illustrated in fig1 receives input from a “ user input mechanism ” 116 . the user supplies values for a desired “ maximum temperature recovery time ” 111 , and the “ user &# 39 ; s normally desired setpoint temperature ” 112 . the maximum temperature recovery time in a hotel or motel would most likely be set or determined by hotel / motel management . this information could be provided in several ways , including preprogramming of the thermostat at any time including either at installation or at the factory ; programming by maintenance personnel either locally at the thermostat ( possibly with passwords or coded accessibility ), or from a central or remote control node or computer . the maximum recovery time itself could be a fixed length of time , or it could be programmable in a manner similar to other thermostat parameter programming . for example , the recovery time could be made longer during the day when people are likely to be more active , and then shorter in the evening , and then maybe somewhere in between at night . in a hotel or motel the recovery time might be significantly lengthened once there is an indication that the room is unlikely to be occupied for the entire night . the maximum recovery time could also be ignored during certain times of the day and a fixed setback temperature used instead . the normally desired setpoint temperature can be provided in ways well known in the art . it would most likely be provided by an occupant of the room , but it could also be provided in a multitude of ways similar to those just discussed for the maximum temperature recovery time . a thermostat control apparatus 101 as illustrated in fig1 implemented as a microcontroller or microprocessor with control memory and random access memory is a common way to control and utilize the components of a thermostat . it is not required that a programming element be utilized but advantages in cost and both ease of design through programming and flexibility of user programming can be provided in certain embodiments of the invention . in implementation of certain illustrated embodiments the apparatus included as part of the thermostat control apparatus can be microcontroller code stored in a control memory , and with the status and states of the thermostat described in specific locations in a random access memory . the mechanisms and apparatus shown in fig1 as exemplary can also be combined or divided in ways that do not affect the inventive concept of the embodiments . for example , the setpoint temperature setting mechanism and the reduced temperature setpoint adjust apparatus might be integrated as with common components or within the same section of microcontroller control code . fig2 depicts another illustrated embodiment which is a more general depiction of heating apparatus that might be controlled by a thermostat . in this illustration , which is similar to that in fig1 , the thermostat apparatus is illustrated as being in control of heating apparatus which includes both a first and second heating apparatus 204 and 205 respectively . these are controlled by a “ first heating apparatus control ” 208 and a “ second heating apparatus control ” 209 . that is , there are two sources of heat with different characteristics of cost and / or energy efficiency . an illustrated embodiment of the invention can be applied with almost any two alternative sources of heat in a room or conditioned space . for example , a heat pump as a first source of heat and a natural gas heater as a second source would provide two energy sources , with the heat pump likely to be more economical , but the natural gas heater likely to be much more powerful . propane heat might be an alternative to electric resistance and in certain environments it can be imagined that either one or the other might be more economical . for example , electric heat in tennessee might be economical but if the heater was small , propane or natural gas might provide quicker recovery of room temperature , albeit more expensive . the possibility of “ idling ” a room at a much reduced temperature during periods of potentially extended no occupancy has potential for very significant savings in energy costs . note again that the first and second heating apparatus may be combined to produce more heat than available with either one . this is considered for purposes of these discussions to allow the second heating apparatus to actually include both mechanisms ( apparatus ) for heating . fig3 is an illustration showing the room temperature response during a period of occupancy followed by no occupancy , with the illustration showing how a reduction in the unoccupied setpoint temperature might be implemented , but without being as much a reduction as possible . the illustration uses a chart showing a room &# 39 ; s temperature 300 on the y - axis of a graph , and time 301 on the x - axis of the same graph . in fig3 , the illustration shows the room starting out being occupied 310 and maintained by the heating apparatus under control of the thermostat apparatus at 62 degrees 302 . the room becomes unoccupied at the time shown as reference 311 . with the room being unoccupied the thermostat apparatus responds by turning off the heat , and the room temperature begins to drop 312 ( assuming it is cold outside ). after a period of time , the thermostat schedules invokes a brief measurement of the room &# 39 ; s “ thermal response rate ”. this measurement is made using “ standard ” or “ normal ” heat which in this example is the heat pump ( or compressor ). this allows the thermostat to calculate the temperature to which the present setpoint can be adjusted ( knowing the maximum desired recovery time ). in this example , the calculation provides a number of 60 degrees 303 and the room is allowed to drift down to that temperature at time 315 , at which time the thermostat resumes natural operation and maintains the room temperature at 60 degrees in a standard manner ( utilizing the heat pump , or maybe some resistive heating if the heat pump cannot keep up ). the slope of the room temperature charted at reference 314 is the thermal response rate of the room under application of compressor ( or heat pump ) heat . if the room were to become occupied again , this is the slope that would be assumed to be achievable in recovering the room temperature to a desired “ occupied ” setpoint temperature . fig4 illustrates an advantageous way to allow dropping the setpoint temperature significantly further during periods of no occupancy . in fig4 , as in fig3 , the room temperature is maintained 310 at the desired room temperature specified as an “ occupied ” setpoint . the occupied setpoint temperature may itself vary during the day in response to user changes , user programming of the thermostat , in response to central office signals , or in other ways . when the room is detected or determined to have become unoccupied 311 , it is desirable to reduce the setpoint temperature in order to save energy . if no heat is applied ( and the outside temperature is lower than the inside temperature ) then the room temperature will begin to drop as shown marked by reference 312 . the question for the thermostat to answer is how low should the temperature be allowed to drop , which saves energy , while still trying to meet the comfort requirements of being able to recover ( restore ) the room temperature to the desired level when occupancy is again detected , not necessarily knowing for sure when that might be . to facilitate calculation of the maximum reduction in setpoint temperature , a measurement of the room &# 39 ; s thermal response rate is made 414 under application of the most heat that the heating apparatus can produce . ( this is typically “ resistive ” heat , or it may be a combined heating of both resistive elements and compressor heat ). the slope of room temperature in response to maximum heat in conjunction with the user specified maximum recovery time , allows a reduced setpoint to be calculated . after the measurement , 414 , the room temperature is allowed to again drift lower ( because no heat is being applied ) until the room temperature reaches 415 ( or is already below ) the newly calculated reduced setpoint temperature . at this time , the thermostat resumes its normal work of keeping the room at that reduced setpoint temperature 416 , this “ maintenance ” normally being done by the more economical compressor heat , unless the compress cannot keep up . this reduced setpoint temperature could then be maintained until occupancy is again detected or determined . in a further illustrated embodiment the accuracy of the predicted recovery time , and / or the calculation of the reduced non - occupied setpoint temperature can be improved by periodically invoking the “ resistive ” ( or maximum ) heat , and again 417 measuring the thermal response rate of the room . the calculated reduced setpoint temperature could then be adjusted either up or down , keeping the idea that the lowest setpoint temperature possible , while still predicting recovery in less than the maximum recovery time , will achieve the most energy savings . a formula that provides the lowest reduced setpoint temperature based upon the measured thermal response rate of the room , and the user &# 39 ; s specified maximum desire recovery time is as follow : lowest allowed reduced setpoint temperature = present desired setpoint ( in degrees ) . . . minus . . . ( maximum allowed temperature recovery time ( in minutes ) . . . times . . . measured thermal response rate ( in degrees per minute )). it may not be necessary to precisely calculate , store , or retain the reduced setpoint temperature in this manner , but the formula is illustrative of the concept being applied . fig5 illustrates the concept ( s ) necessary to determine ( calculate ) a reduced setpoint temperature that is to be utilized during periods of no occupancy based upon a plan of utilizing a more powerful heating source when recovery is needed . note that fig4 illustrates a measurement of a room &# 39 ; s thermal response rate during application of heat , and then a prediction of recovery within a user specified period . fig5 illustrates the period of recovery as predicted , not necessarily as might be actually achieved . in fig5 the x - axis 500 is “ time ”, and the y - axis 300 is “ temperature ”. the left side of the graph illustrates two room temperatures 303 and 404 that have been calculated and then reached after some extended period of no occupancy . reference 501 marks a period of these two exemplary temperatures maintained during no occupancy . the higher temperature of 60 degrees 303 is the maintained reduced setpoint temperature that would be determined if a predicted recovery time is calculated using only compressor heat as described 530 . a further reduced temperature of 50 degrees 404 can be allowed for more energy savings if the reduced setpoint temperature is determined using a predicted recovery time based upon resistive heat as described 531 . the two lines on the graph starting on the left from 50 degrees and 60 degrees illustrate maintaining the calculated reduced setpoint temperature as long as the room is not occupied 501 . when the room is detected or determined to have become occupied 503 , then heat is turned on , and the two lines illustrate a recovery in less than a maximum allowed temperature recovery time 506 . note that both lines illustrate prediction of a complete recovery within the same amount of time 506 . at the time marked by reference 507 , the desired room temperature ( during any occupied period ) is restored to an exemplary 72 degrees 302 . in order to achieve recovery in the predicted amount of time , the slope of the line 504 from 50 degrees , must be steeper than the slope of the line 505 from 60 degrees . achieving the steeper slope 504 requires using high heat or resistive heat and in order to predict this slope , the measurement of room response ( measured slope ) must have been made during application of high heat ( resistive heat ). this measurement and then prediction of room response rate under high heat enables the reduction of temperature during the period of no occupancy to a lower temperature than a measurement and prediction based only upon compressor ( lower but more energy efficient ) heat . the energy savings being described is achieved during the period of no occupancy through the reduced setpoint temperature . maintenance of that reduced temperature and recovery , can be done in a “ normal ” way , that is , as thermostats normally do , or improvement could be made such as utilizing compressor heating in a normal way and then if resistive heating is required to “ keep up ” utilizing that also for measurement of the room &# 39 ; s thermal response rate . note that when occupancy is detected , the recovery itself is likely to use the more powerful heating source , especially when recovery is needed after a long period and it is cold outside , but depending on outside conditions , or the room temperature at the time occupancy resumes , this may not be necessary . having said that , further savings can be achieved by measuring the thermal response rate of the room under both compressor heat , and resistive heat . this enables the thermostat to utilize the more expensive heating source only when necessary to recover in the required time . without having both numbers , the thermostat would be required to utilize the more expensive heating source immediately upon resumption of occupancy in order to attempt to ensure recovery within the maximum time specified by the user . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . it will be apparent to one of skill in the arts that other embodiments incorporating the concepts may be used . it is felt , therefore , that these embodiments should not be limited to the disclosed embodiments but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims .

5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting

in the following , a targets throwing device used in shooting sports such as clay pigeon shooting and thus frequently using clay targets will be described . it should be noted here that the present invention is not limited by such use and that it may relate to the throwing of foam targets , for example for archery . similarly , targets may also be thrown substantially in the air with a significant vertical component or substantially at ground level with a significant horizontal component . “ carried ” means that the two elements are made kinematically integral with one another . all the configurations respecting such kinematic simultaneity fall within the scope of the invention . the two elements may be directly or indirectly connected to each other . fig1 has already been described in detail in the introduction of this application . the device 1 of the invention uses some characteristics of the device of fig1 but , for such device 1 , a set of pinions 17 , 18 and a chain 19 or a belt have been substituted for the nipples 5 and 11 shown in fig1 , while modifying the position of the geared motor 9 accordingly . the characteristics of the arm 2 positioned at one end of a shaft 3 having a free wheel 7 while a connecting rod 4 is positioned at the other end remain substantially unchanged . the connecting rod 4 has one end connected to the shaft 3 while its other end has a pivot 5 a hinged at one end 6 of the draw - spring , with the other end of the draw - spring 6 being connected to the point 28 of the upper body 8 of the device 1 b . the driving assembly specific to this embodiment comprises a geared motor 9 driving a drive pinion 18 itself connected by a transmission chain or belt 19 to a pinion 17 carried by the shaft 3 . the free wheel 7 of the shaft 3 cooperates with the pinion 17 . the geared motor 9 is positioned so that its output pin a1 is remote and parallel to the axis of rotation a2 of the arm 2 . the drive pinion 18 having a smaller size than the pinion 17 and connected to the latter by means of the chain 19 is positioned at the output end of the geared motor 9 . a contactor 12 is located on the rotating path of the arm 2 , above the end of the draw - spring 6 connected to the upper body 8 . a remote triggering device commands the geared motor 9 to rotate , with the pinion 18 driving the pinion 17 through the chain 19 . with the outer cage of the free wheel 7 rotating counter - clockwise , the free wheel 7 is secured to the connecting rod 4 . the system evolves until the contactor 12 is intercepted by the arm 2 . when the arm 2 and the pivot 5 a go beyond the “ zero point ”, the draw - spring 6 then acts on the connecting rod 4 counter - clockwise , which results in an acceleration of the arm 2 . because of the inertia of the system the arm stops at about 270 ° from the “ zero point ”. this position can be held because of the free wheel 7 . with the geared motor 9 operating on , the free wheel 7 becomes driving again and drives the connecting rod 4 again for a new step of cocking . as shown in fig2 , the device 1 according to the invention comprises a connecting rod 4 connected to the lower end of the shaft 3 of rotation of the arm 2 rotating about a pin a2 . the connecting rod 4 is articulated at its other end with one end of the draw - spring 6 by a pivot 5 a . the draw - spring 6 , acting as throwing means and having a substantially elongated rectilinear shape , has its other end secured to the lower portion of the upper body 8 of the device 1 , bearing reference 28 . the x1 , x2 axes respectively of the connecting rod 4 and the spring 6 are shown in fig8 to 13 . the x3 axis illustrates the line going through the centre of the connecting rod 4 and the junction point 28 between the spring 6 and the body 8 . a rest position of the device 1 is defined , wherein the x3 axis and the x1 axis of the connecting rod 4 are superimposed . the x1 axis is a continuation of the x2 axis , with the connecting rod 4 being aligned with the draw - spring 6 . this position is shown in fig2 and 8 . in this position , the arm 2 is distant from the upper body 8 of the device 1 and is not pointing at said body 8 . this position is called the “ rest position ”, i . e . offset by a 180 ° rotation of the arm 2 with respect to the “ zero point ” position . similarly , a so - called “ zero point ” position of the device 1 illustrated in fig1 is defined , wherein the x3 axis and the x1 axis of the connecting rod 4 are in line with each other , the x1 axis is superimposed on the x2 axis , with the connecting rod 4 being located above the draw - spring 6 . no torque is exerted on the arm 2 because of the alignment of forces and their going through the axis of rotation of the arm ; the position is balanced . this “ zero point ” position corresponds to the end of cocking position , for which the draw - spring 6 is liable to relax and the device 1 to throw a target . this position , illustrated in fig1 is located , while referring to the left - hand direction , just before the position shown in fig4 and 12 . in fig4 and 12 , the position of the arm 2 is slightly beyond the “ zero point ”. this position is called the throwing position . the throwing position is preferably located in an angular sector of 5 to 10 ° beyond the zero point in the direction of rotation of the arm . in the method according to the invention , the step of cocking the arm 2 of the device 1 may start from an initial position shown in fig3 and 9 . during the previous rotation of the arm 2 for a throw , the inertia of the arm 2 made it go beyond the rest position shown in fig2 and 8 to complete its rotation to the position shown in fig3 and 9 , i . e . approximately at 270 ° relative to the “ zero point ”. the arm 2 is held in this start position that shortens the step of cocking relative to a step of cocking starting from the rest position . this shortening results from the action of the free wheel 7 associated with the shaft of rotation 3 of the arm 2 and positioned above the pinion 17 , which keeps the arm 2 in this position before the step of cocking . during the step of cocking , the arms 2 rotates , as it is driven by the geared motor 9 up to the “ zero point ”, counter - clockwise . a device having an arm rotating in the other direction may also be designed . the geared motor 9 drives the pinion 17 of the shaft 3 of rotation of the arm 2 via the drive pinion 18 and causes the shaft 3 to rotate while the draw - spring 6 , illustrating the throwing means of the device 1 , tightens . at the “ zero point ”, the connecting rod 4 is still opposed to the retraction of the draw - spring 6 but ceases to be , beyond the “ zero point ” in the throwing position . this is shown in fig4 and 12 . the draw - spring 6 could then return to its start position by instantly returning to its non stretched position and thereby cause an accelerated rotation of the arm 2 for throwing the target . this is then prevented , according to the present invention , by means for locking the throwing means in abutment , using the draw - spring 6 , while keeping these in tension . according to one possibility of the present invention , the throwing method provides a shut - down of the geared motor 9 beyond the “ zero point ”. the shut - down of the geared motor 9 may be enabled by the contactor 12 carried by the upper body 8 of the device 1 , with such contactor 12 being able to cut the power supply to the geared motor 9 when contacted by the end of the arm 2 . the contactor 12 is positioned substantially in contact with the arm 2 “ at the zero point ”. the inertia of the arm 2 drives it to the throwing point , beyond the “ zero point ”, alternately the contactor 12 may postpone stopping the geared motor 9 to bring the arm 2 in the throwing position . the cut may occur before or simultaneously with the locking of the throwing means in tension . in this configuration , the device 1 is waiting for an order to throw a target . further to an order to throw a target , for example given by the shooter , the geared motor 9 is started again and the method according to the invention comprises a step of driving the device 1 by the geared motor 9 , with such step ending with the unlocking of the throwing means in tension . advantageously , the means for locking the throwing means in the form of the draw - spring 6 are means acting on the arm 2 and having the following characteristics while referring to fig2 to 7 . a crank pin 21 , having a free wheel 20 inside is provided on the output pin of the geared motor 9 rotating about the a1 axis , above the drive pinion 18 . the free wheel 20 allows the rotation of the crank pin 21 clockwise or , if the latter is locked , the rotation of the geared motor 9 counter - clockwise . the crank pin 21 carries a pin 22 , at its periphery , with the pin 22 being eccentric relative to the a1 axis of the geared motor 9 . a roller 23 , free to rotate , is mounted on the pin 22 thus turning about a substantially vertical axis . a resilient means , in the form of a spring 24 , having one end connected to the upper body 8 of the device 1 and the other end connected to the lower part of the pin 22 holds the lower portion of the pin 22 against a stop 25 . in another embodiment , the spring 24 can press the edge of the crank pin 21 against the stop 25 . a lug 26 is fixed to the free end of the throwing arm 2 and on the underside thereof . the roller 23 is located on the trajectory of the lug 26 upon rotation of the arm 2 about the a2 axis . the a2 axis of the pinion 17 and of rotation of the arm 2 , the a1 axis of the drive pinion 18 and of the geared motor 9 and the pin 22 are arranged in this order . the contactor 12 is located on the trajectory of the arm 2 . as mentioned above , in the throwing method according to the present invention , the arm 2 reaches the “ zero point ” position and goes beyond upon completion of the arm 2 cocking phase . the free end of the arm 2 switches the contactor 12 which cuts the power supply to the geared motor 9 . beyond the “ zero point ” the traction exerted by the draw - spring 6 brings the lug 26 of the arm 2 with the roller 23 into contact . when the geared motor 9 is stationary , the free wheel 20 opposes the movement of the crank pin 21 . this is shown in fig4 and 12 . when the geared motor 9 is supplied again , for example after an order to throw , it rotates the free wheel 20 and therefore the roller 23 , thereby releasing the arm 2 . this is shown in fig5 and 13 . the lug 26 of the arm 2 rotates about the roller 23 and the roller 23 is no longer an obstacle to the progress of the arm 2 . the return to the non stretched position of the draw - spring 6 follows , which causes the throwing of the target which is then positioned against the fixture 27 of the arm 2 , which was particularly visible in fig2 and 7 . advantageously , the dimensions of the pinions 17 and 18 make it possible to create a reduction which limits the pressure of the lug 26 on the roller 23 . the throwing method according to the invention thus comprises a step of throwing by ejection of the target by the arm 2 , upon the automatic release of the throwing means formed by the draw - spring 6 , with no locking means holding these any longer while in a stretched position . this step of throwing the target by ejection goes on sequentially with the positions shown in fig6 and 7 and 13 , as well as with the rest position shown in fig2 and 8 . such rest position shown in fig2 and 8 is gone beyond , with the arm 2 reaching , because of its inertia , the position shown in fig3 and 9 . this position is kept as the starting position for a new target throwing by the throwing arm 2 rotating counter - clockwise . according to the invention , there is no timing problem since the geared motor 9 only is acted upon , with the release system being mechanically bound thereto . the pressure of the arm 2 on the roller 23 is thus completely controlled and unchanging . the electrical control is thus simplified and risks of malfunction are reduced . only a defective draw - spring 6 could lead to a burst start of the arm 2 . the safety of persons near the device 1 is thereby significantly improved as compared to the embodiments of the prior art shown in fig1 .

5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting

the following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention . although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred , the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted , or otherwise used , as limiting the scope of the disclosure , including the claims . in addition , one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application , and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment , and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure , including the claims , is limited to that embodiment . fig1 illustrates a system 10 in accordance with various embodiments . the system 10 comprises a debug and test system ( dts ) 11 that is coupled to one or more target systems ( ts ) 16 . the dts 11 provides for testing of the dts &# 39 ; s 11 . in some embodiments , the dts 11 and ts &# 39 ; s 16 are jtag - compliant ( joint test action group ) and are coupled via a jtag communication link 12 . the dts 11 comprises a jtag adapter 14 coupled to host logic 8 containing a test access port ( tap ) controller 13 ( tapc ) via an ieee 1149 . 1 bus 15 . similarly , each ts 16 comprises a jtag adapter 17 coupled to scan test logic ( stl ) containing a tap controller ( tapc ) 18 via an ieee 1149 . 1 bus 19 . dts 11 is capable of sending test and debug sequences via link 12 to any or all of the ts &# 39 ; s 16 . the sequences allow dts 11 to configure the ts &# 39 ; s 16 for a test , execute the test , and read back the results of the test . the dts 11 may be configured to couple to the ts &# 39 ; s 16 using a four or five wire implementation of link 12 as defined under the jtag architecture . the link 12 includes signals tck ( clock ), tmsc ( mode select ), tdi ( data in ), tdo ( data out ), and optionally rtck ( return clock ). at least the tck , tmsc , tdi and tdo signals are used when the dts 11 communicates with the ts &# 39 ; s 16 according to the jtag protocol . this architecture is further described in u . s . pat . pub . 20060279439 , incorporated herein by reference . fig2 shows a state diagram in accordance with the jtag standard . from the test logic reset state , a tap controller may enter the run test idle state depending on the tms bit . from run test idle , the tap controller may perform a data register ( dr ) scan or an instruction register ( ir ) scan . each of the dr and ir scans generally involves the tap controller performing a capture , shift , and update as illustrated . various pause or exit states are built into the state diagram . following the update , the tap controller may return to the run test idle state or perform another dr or ir scan . jtag - enabled systems have generally been configured in a series scan configuration during testing as illustrated in fig3 . fig3 illustrates three target systems ( ts 16 a - 16 c ). all three ts &# 39 ; s are coupled in series . the tdi signal from the dts 11 is provided to ts 16 a and the tdo output of ts 16 a is connected to the tdi input of ts 16 b . the tdo output of ts 16 b is connected to the tdi input of ts 16 c . the tdo output of ts 16 c provides the test output signal back to the dts 11 . in a series scan configuration as in fig3 , all of the tap controllers of the ts &# 39 ; s 11 transition together through the state diagram of fig2 . that is , all of the tap controllers of the ts &# 39 ; s perform a capture , shift and update concurrently . all of the tap controllers shift their data in unison with the output of one tap controller being shifted to the input of the next tap controller in series . fig4 illustrates a star configuration in which the three ts &# 39 ; s 16 a - 16 c share the jtag signals tck , tms , tdi and tdo . in a star configuration , all of the tap controllers of the ts &# 39 ; s can perform capture and update scans together , but not shifts . the reason that shifts cannot be performed in unison is that all of the ts &# 39 ; s would attempt to drive different bits onto the same , common tdo signal line thereby creating a drive conflict on tdo . the embodiments disclosed herein solve this problem by implementing a series equivalent of the scan operation on a star configuration . the operations performed by the capture - xr and update - xr tap states ( the “ x ” refers to either “ d ” for data or “ i ” for instruction ) for a series scan topology ( fig3 ) are duplicated in a star scan topology ( fig4 ), with the number of clock periods between the update - xr and capture - xr tap states remaining the same . however , the scan operation exchanging data with the taps of interest between the capture - xr and update - xr tap states altered . the scan operation used with a series scan topology is synthesized using a series of scan operations with a star scan topology , each operation in the series targeting a single and different tap controller of interest . a description of this process follows . in a star scan topology the tap controllers of interest ( tap controllers to be scanned ) are called the “ scan group ” while the tap controllers that are not of interest ( tap controllers not to be scanned ) are called the “ idle group .” the tap state of the idle group is parked in the run - test / idle state while the scan group participates in dr and ir scans . a series equivalent scan is performed with the scan group as follows . referring to fig2 and 5 , the tap state of the scan group moves through the capture - xr and update - xr tapc states 102 and 118 in lock - step . that is , in those states , all members of the scan group perform captures and updates in unison . between the two states 102 and 118 , the shift portion of a scan is divided into sections with each section dedicated to selecting and scanning only one member of the scan group while the tap state of the other members of the scan group are parked in the pause - xr state . at 102 , all members of the scan group perform a capture which entails moving through the select - xr , capture - xr and exit 1 - xr states , without traversing the shift - xr tap controller state . at 104 , all members of the scan group transition to the pause - xr state . while in the pause - xr state , a scan selection directive ( ssd ) is performed . various ssds are possible and are encoded bits on the tdi inputs to each ts 16 . one of the ssds is a “ select one ” tap controller in which one of the tap controllers is selected using an address unique to the target tap controller . another ssd is a “ select all ” ssd in which all members of the scan group are selected . at 104 , a “ select one ” ssd is performed to select one member of the scan group ( e . g ., the tap controller of ts 16 a ). with the tap controller of ts 16 a selected and the other tap controllers not selected ( decoupled ), a shift is performed at 106 on the one selected tap controller . the shift is performed by moving the selected tap controller through the exit 2 - xr state , the shift - xr state , the exit 1 - xr state and finally back to the pause - xr state . at this point , all members of the scan group are in the pause - xr state . another one of the tap controllers ( e . g ., the tap controller of ts 16 b ) is selected at 108 using the “ select one ” ssd message encoded with the target tap controller &# 39 ; s address . the selected tap controller then performs a shift at 110 by moving through the exit 2 - xr , shift - xr , exit 1 - xr and pause - xr states . at 112 and 114 , yet another member of the scan group ( e . g ., the tap controller of ts 16 c ) is selected using the “ select one ” ssd and then shifted as described above . once all members of the scan group have been individual selected and shifted , at 116 , a “ select all ” ssd is issued to select all members of the scan group while in the pause - xr state . at 118 ( and all members of the scan group have been selected and coupled ), the update phase of the scan is performed by moving the scan group through the exit 2 - xr and update - xr states and , if desired , back to the run - test / idle state . the “ select one ” ssd uses a value that is unique to the targeted tap controller . that value can be a tap controller address ( tca ) or a controller identifier ( cid ). a tca preferably is a 35 - bit value comprising a 27 - it idcode concatenated with an 8 - it node identification number ( node id ). per the ieee 1149 specification , the 27 - bit idcode comprises a 16 - bit part number and an 11 - bit manufacturer identifier . the 8 - bit node id provides for 256 uniquely addressable tap controllers with identical idcode elements . the node id is created at the chip level using any one of several methods or a mix of the following methods : from external pins whose value is latched when chip hard reset is released , fusible elements , programmable elements such as electrically - erasable programmable read - only memories ( eeproms ), a register loaded by the application , and fixed ( hardwired ). the tca is generated and provided to the associated tap controller . in alternative embodiments , since tcas are 35 bits in length and at least some systems will have 16 or fewer tap controllers , a performance improvement can be attained by allocating a four - bit alias for up to 16 tcas . this alias is called a controller id ( cid ). any of a variety of techniques is possible to allocate cids to each tap controller . the ssds described above can use either the tca or cid values to select a particular tap controller . ssds are encoded with a 3 - bit directive to specify the type of ssd . a directive bit pattern of “ 010 ” means that the ssd is a “ select one ” ssd using a cid . the cid value is part of the ssd &# 39 ; s payload . a directive bit pattern of “ 110 ” means that the ssd is a “ select one ” ssd using a tca , which is part of the ssd &# 39 ; s payload . a directive bit pattern of “ 111 ” means that the ssd is the “ select all ” ssd . a directive bit pattern of “ 000 ” means that the ssd is a “ clear all ” ssd ( all members of the scan group are decoupled ). the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications .

6Physics

a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be given referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a schematic structural view of an optical system of a fundus observation apparatus in the present embodiment . a laser beam emitted from a laser source 1 passes through a center opening ( hole ) of a perforated mirror 2 and a lens 3 and is reflected by plane reflecting mirrors 4 and 5 and a concave reflecting mirror 6 , and falls on a polygon mirror 7 . the beam reflected by the polygon mirror 7 is then reflected by a concave reflecting mirror 8 , and falls on a galvano - mirror 9 . the beam reflected by the galvano - mirror 9 is reflected by a concave reflecting mirror 10 and is concentrated ( condensed ) on an objective part to be observed of a fundus ef of an examinee &# 39 ; s eye e . the mirrors 4 and 5 are synchronously movable in a direction indicated by an arrow a to change an optical path length of the beam for diopter correction ( for focusing ) of the eye e . the polygon mirror 7 is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow b in order to scan the beam in a horizontal direction ( an x - direction ). the galvano - mirror 9 is swung ( oscillated ) in a direction indicated by an arrow c to scan the beam in a vertical direction ( a y - direction ). with this structure , the beam is irradiated onto the objective part of the fundus ef while scanning it in two dimensions ( in the x - and y - directions ). these optical members constitute an irradiation optical system ( a light projecting optical system ). in the present embodiment , used as the laser source 1 is a semiconductor laser source which emits an infrared laser beam of linear polarized light having a predetermined polarization direction . the beam reflected from the objective part of the fundus ef travels back along the irradiation optical system and is reflected by a portion surrounding the opening of the perforated mirror 2 . the beam reflected by the perforated mirror 2 is reflected by a plane reflecting mirror 11 and enters a wavefront compensator 12 . the wavefront compensator 12 is disposed within an optical path of an imaging optical system excepting a common optical path with the irradiation optical system . this makes it possible to achieve a downsized apparatus as compared with a case where the wavefront compensator 12 is disposed in the common optical path . for this wavefront compensator 12 , for example , a liquid - crystal spatial phase modulator , typified by e . g . ppm ( a programmable phase modulator ) made by hamamatsu photonics k . k . is used . in the wavefront compensator 12 , an aligning direction of liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal layer is nearly parallel to a polarization plane of the incident beam . further , in the wavefront compensator 12 , a predetermined plane , relative to which liquid crystal molecules will rotate in response to changes in applied voltage to the liquid crystal layer , is nearly parallel to a plane including an incident optical axis and a reflecting optical axis of the beam and the normal to a mirror layer of the wavefront compensator 12 . the beam is reflected by a reflecting plane of the wavefront compensator 12 in which wavefront aberration is compensated . successively , the beam partly passes through a half mirror 13 and a lens 15 in order and then is focused on a center pinhole of a pinhole plate 16 . the beam focused on the pinhole passes through a lens 17 and then is received by a photo - receiving element ( a photo - detector ) 18 . the opening of the perforated mirror 2 is substantially conjugated with the pupil of the eye e with respect to the lens 3 . the pinhole of the pinhole plate 16 is substantially conjugated with the objective part of the fundus ef with respect to the lens 15 . these optical members constitute the imaging optical system ( a photo - receiving optical system ). further , part of the beam of which wavefront aberration has been compensated is reflected by the half mirror 13 and then enters a wavefront detector 14 . the wavefront detector 14 detects the wavefront aberration to obtain information on the wavefront aberration to be compensated by the wavefront compensator 12 . for this wavefront detector 14 , for example , a hartmann - shack sensor , a wavefront curvature sensor for detecting a change in light intensity , and others are used . the reflecting plane of the wavefront compensator 12 and a light receiving plane of the wavefront detector 14 may be conjugated with the pupil of the eye e . in this case , a needful optical member has to be disposed in the imaging optical system . in the present embodiment , used as the photo - receiving element 18 is an avalanche photodiode ( apd ). in the present embodiment , the laser source 1 is placed so that the beam of the linear polarized light enters the wavefront compensator 12 as a p - polarized beam , but not limited thereto . a ½ wave plate for changing a polarization direction of p waves may be placed in the optical path of the imaging optical system between the perforated mirror 2 and the wavefront compensator 12 . such ½ wave plate is rotated to provide the polarization direction of appropriately producing an image of the objective part ( the polarization direction of efficiently reflecting the beam to the wavefront compensator 12 ). this ½ wave plate is preferably located within the optical path of the imaging optical system excepting the common optical path with the irradiation optical system . fig2 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of the apparatus . connected to a control part 20 which controls the entire apparatus are the laser source 1 , the polygon mirror 7 , the galvano - mirror 9 , the wavefront compensator 12 , the wavefront detector 14 , the photo - receiving element 18 , a moving unit 21 for moving the mirrors 4 and 5 , an input part 22 , an image processing part ( a display control part ) 23 , a monitor 24 , a memory part 25 , and others . the input part 22 is provided with switches and others for inputting data on refractive power of the eye e in order to correct diopter . the image processing part 23 produces an image based on an output signal from the photo - receiving element 18 , and causes the monitor 24 to display the image . the memory part 25 stores various setting information , captured images , etc . operations of the apparatus constructed as above will be described below . an examiner inputs data on the refractive power of the eye e , which is a previously measured result through an eye refractive power measurement apparatus or the like , with the input part 22 . the control part 20 stores the inputted refractive power data in the memory part 25 and also causes the moving unit 21 to move the mirrors 4 and 5 based on the data , thus correcting the diopter . successively , the examiner manipulates a joystick or the like not shown to move the apparatus after the diopter correction to make alignment with respect to the eye e so that the image of the objective part of the fundus ef appears on the monitor 24 . the beam irradiated to and reflected by the objective part of the fundus ef is reflected by the reflecting plane of the wavefront compensator 12 . the beam reflected by the wavefront compensator 12 is partially reflected by the half mirror 13 and received by the wavefront detector 14 . the control part 20 performs a fourier transform of an optical distribution ( a photo - receiving signal ) detected by the wavefront detector 14 and , based on the result , dynamically controls the phase of pupil function of a compensating optical system . in the present embodiment , a liquid crystal layer of the wavefront compensator 12 is used for phase modulation of the pupil function . the aligning direction of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is changed by voltage control , thereby controlling a phase distribution so that a spreading range of a diffraction pattern of the beam reflected by the objective part of the fundus ef is reduced to a minimum . with the above structure , the beam reflected by the wavefront compensator 12 whereby the wavefront aberration is compensated is received by the photo - receiving element 18 . the image processing part 23 produces an image of the objective part based on the output signal from the photo - receiving element 18 , and causes the monitor 24 to display that image . in the present embodiment , because the objective part of the fundus ef and the pinhole of the pinhole plate 16 are conjugated with each other , only the beam from the objective part of the fundus ef is allowed to pass through the pinhole and be received by the photo - receiving element 18 . accordingly , a clear image of the objective part can be obtained . for ensuring an adequate light quantity of the beam or others , an additional system for changing the diameter of the pinhole of the pinhole plate 16 may be provided . in the above embodiment , a reflection - type wavefront compensator is used as the wavefront compensator 12 , but other types may also be adopted . a transmission - type wavefront compensator which allows the beam reflected by the objective part to pass therethrough to thereby compensate wavefront aberration may be adopted . as the wavefront compensator 12 , furthermore , any well known device may also be used ; for example , micro - electro - machined ( mems ) membrance mirrors , mems segmented mirrors , bimorph deformable mirrors , electrostatic membrance deformable mirrors . the liquid crystal spatial phase modulator is easy to control and capable of compensating wavefront aberration with high accuracy . although the above embodiment was explained using the fundus observation apparatus , the present invention may also be applied to an apparatus for imaging and observing an anterior segment of an eye and so on . while the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described , it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims .

0Human Necessities

referring now to the drawings , wherein is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the flute 10 comprises a hollow , cylindrical tube 11 of constant internal diameter throughout its length . the flute 10 has a headjoint 12 with an embouchure 13 at its upper end , a body 14 and a footjoint 15 , all telescopically assembled together . the headjoint 12 and body 14 are connected together by a slip joint 16 which enables tuning of the flute . a thumb hook 17 , projecting from the rear of the body 14 , enables the flute to be supported by the thumb of the lower hand of the player . the flute may be constructed of any of the materials conventionally used in the manufacture of flutes . in embodiments of the flute as actually manufactured , the headjoint , body , footjoint , keys , padcups and the like are made of silver or silver plate , and the pads used for stopping the holes in the flute are made of a suitable resilient material . fig6 - 9 show the hole location in accordance with the present invention for a flute having middle c as its lowest note , the flute having a constant internal diameter of eleven - sixteenths of an inch . the length of the flute is 24 inches from the embouchure 13 to the bottom of the footjoint 15 for a tuning of a in the range of 440 - 445 hz , depending on the size of the opening the lip plate of the embouchure 13 . the diameters of the trill holes th1 and th2 and the tone holes h1 - h13 through the side wall of the flute and the distances of the trill and tone holes from the bottom of the footjoint 15 are as follows : ______________________________________ distance of hole center hole diameter from bottom of footjointhole no . ( inches ) embouchure ( inches ) ______________________________________th1 1 / 4 157 / 8th2 1 / 4 151 / 4h1 1 / 4 14 5 / 16h2 15 / 32 131 / 8h3 15 / 32 12 5 / 16h4 1 / 2 111 / 2h5 1 / 2 10 11 / 16h6 1 / 2 95 / 8h7 17 / 32 83 / 4h8 17 / 32 73 / 4h9 17 / 32 6 11 / 16h10 17 / 32 51 / 2h11 19 / 32 41 / 8h12 19 / 32 27 / 8h13 19 / 32 15 / 8______________________________________ as will be noted , there are two tone holes at 141 / 2 inches from the embouchure , h6c and h6o . these two holes are each one - half inch in diameter with the hole h6c being normally closed and hole h6o being normally open . if the flute is to be tuned to a lower pitch , for a particular embouchure , the headjoint 12 is adjusted relative to the body 14 so that the overall length of the flute is increased . as shown in the elevational views of the flute , fig1 and 2 , and the schematic diagram , fig1 , pad cups tp1 and tp2 are associated with trill holes th1 and th2 , respectively , and pad cups p1 , p2 , p3 , p6c , p6o , p7 , p11 , p12 and p13 are associated with tone holes h1 , h2 , h3 , h6c , h7 , h11 , h12 and h13 , respectively . the finger operated keys k3 , k4 , k6 , k7 and k8 also comprise pad cups which are directly associated with tone holes h4 , h5 , h8 , h9 and h10 , respectively . all of these pad cups carry a conventional resilient pad ( not shown ) to close the hole associated therewith . in addition , thumb - operated keys tk1 and tk2 on the back of the flute and finger operated keys k2 , k5 , k9 , k10 , k11 , k12 , k13 and k14 are provided on the front of the flute to selectively actuate the various key pads . the padcups and keys are mounted on the flute tube relative to each other in the same pattern and are physically interconnected for operation in the same manner as in a standard transverse flute and thus the physical interconnecting structure shown in fig1 and 2 is not described in detail herein . instead , fig1 shows schematically which holes are opened or closed by the various manually operated keys . in fig1 , an &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; is shown in both of the trill holes th1 and th2 and the tone holes h6c and h11 to indicate that the pad cups associated therewith are each spring biased to normally close these holes . the pad cups associated with all of the other tone holes are spring biased so that the tone holes are normally open . as shown in fig1 , depression of thumb key tk1 will actuate pad cups p2 and p3 to close tone holes h2 and h3 , while depression of thumb key tk2 will actuate only pad cup p2 to close tone hole h2 . depression of finger key k2 will cause pad cup p1 to close tone hole h1 . depression of finger key k3 will directly close tone hole h4 and will also cause pad cup p3 to close tone hole h3 . depression of any one of the keys tk1 , k3 , k6 or k12 will cause pad cup p3 to close tone hole h3 . depression of key k9 will cause pad cup p11 to open tone hole h11 . depression of each of the other manually operated keys will , in similar manner , cause one or more of the trill or tone holes to be opened , or closed , all as indicated in fig1 . fig1 illustrates the fingering system for a standard transverse flute which is also applicable to the end blown flute of the present invention . in fig1 , a circle or symbol which is filled in represents an actuated , or depressed , key , while a circle or symbol not filled in represents an unactuated key . thus , for middle c , the thumb key tk2 is actuated , as are also finger keys k2 , k3 , k4 , k6 , k7 , k8 and k10 . as may be seen from fig1 , with this fingering all of the tone holes in the flute will be closed . for a flat , the thumb key tk2 is actuated as are also keys k2 , k3 , k4 , k5 and k9 . again , as may be seen from fig1 , tone holes h1 - h5 and h6o will all be closed , while tone holes h6c and h7 - h13 will all be open . in like manner , fig1 and 11 will show which of the tone holes will be open or closed by the fingering for all of the other tones or semitones in fig1 . as may be seen from the fingering system of fig1 , all of the tones and semitones in the first register can be obtained by different finger combinations from middle c to e flat ( d sharp ) in the second octave above middle c . the second register of the flute is obtained by tightening the lips , as is well known in the musical art , to direct the jet of air in a more downwardly direction into the flute . in the second register , all of the tones and semitones from c above middle c to d flat in the third octave above middle c can be obtained by the same fingering as in the first register . in addition , the tones and semitones from d to f in the third octave above middle c can be obtained in the second register with the fingering shown in the last four measures of the chart in fig1 . the third register of the flute is achieved by a further tightening of the lips and reorientation of the jet of air , again as is well known in the art . the third register extends from the third f above middle c through c sharp of the fourth octave above middle c , using the same fingering as used to produce the same tones and semitones two octaves below in the first register . as shown in fig3 - 5 , the embouchure 13 has a lip plate 21 extending across the upper end of the tube 11 of headjoint 12 , the lip plate having a downwardly curved portion 22 extending rearwardly of the tube and shaped to rest against the chin and lower lip of the player in order to facilitate the orientation of the lip plate opening 13 into the upper end of tube 11 with respect to the lips of the player . the raised guide wings 24 projecting upwardly from the lip plate 21 and extending from the opening 23 towards the sides of the lip plate also facilitates the placement of the player &# 39 ; s lips relative to the opening 23 . the lip plate 21 also has a downwardly curved portion 26 extending forwardly of the tube 11 . this lip plate portion is cut away so that the lip plate opening is substantially u - shaped , with the upper forward edge 28 of tube 11 being exposed through the opening . this enables the player &# 39 ; s jet of air to be blown directly across the upper edge 28 of tube 11 . the spacing between the opposed edges 27 of the u - shaped opening is preferably three - eighths of an inch . this particular u - head arrangement enables the third register of the flute to be obtained with greater ease than with an embouchure having a lip plate which fully surrounds the opening therethrough . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise features described , obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiment was shown in order to explain most clearly the principles of the invention and a practical application thereof to enable others in the art to utilize effectively the invention in various other modifications as may be suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended thereto . in the claims the phrase &# 34 ; the same pattern as on a standard transverse flute &# 34 ; means the pattern of keys shown in fig1 and 2 , and the terms &# 34 ; same fingering pattern &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; same tones &# 34 ; as used with a &# 34 ; standard transverse flute &# 34 ; means the fingering system and tones shown in fig1 .

6Physics

exemplary hydroxyl compounds can be phenols , aromatic non - phenolic compounds that contain hydroxy groups , cyclic aliphatic polyhydroxy compounds , and linear aliphatic polyhydroxy compounds . preferably , the hydroxyl compounds will be the cyclic or linear aliphatic compounds . in general , these hydroxy compounds will not be electron withdrawing , such as are condensed aromatic rings or compounds with substituents , such as , -- cl , -- no 2 , -- cf 3 , -- co 2 r , -- ch 2 or , -- cn , or so 2 r , where r is an alkyl . particularly , these compounds will be free of ionic contamination . examples of suitable phenols are resorcinol ; 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxy - phenyl ) propane ( commonly known as bisphenol a ); 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bisphenol ; 4 - benzyloxyphenol ; bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) methane ( commonly known as bisphenol f ); and 3 , 4 - dimethylphenol . examples of aromatic non - phenolic compounds are styrene glycol and phenylethyl alcohol . examples of linear aliphatic polyhydroxy compounds are ethylene glycol and glycerol . examples of cyclic aliphatic polyhydroxy compounds are 1 , 3 - dioxane - 5 , 5 - dimethanol and ribonic - gamma - lactone , which has the structure ## str1 ## in general , the flexibilizing compounds are of low molecular weight and liquid ; as a consequence , it is the flexibilizing component in the composition that causes the composition before or during cure to bleed and spread on a substrate , whether that flexibilizing component is the inherently flexible epoxy or an added flexibilizing compound . therefore , the amount of hydroxy compound used to prevent bleeding will be measured in relation to the amount of flexibilizing component in the formulation . the preferred amount of hydroxy compound will be in a ratio by weight of the flexibilizing component to the hydroxy compound from 1 : 3 to 1 : 10 , preferably from 1 : 5 to 1 : 7 . the epoxy resins that are not inherently flexible and that can be used in these compositions are any of the epoxy resins commonly used in formulating adhesives . exemplary resins are phenolic epoxy resins containing one or more epoxy groups per molecule . they can be monomeric or polymeric in nature . the weights per epoxide of these resins will be within the range of about 80 to 200 . preferably the compounds will contain glycidyl ether or ester groups . suitable epoxies include , for example , polyglycidyl ethers produced by the reaction between a polyhydric phenol ( e . g ., bisphenol a , bisphenol f , catechol , resorcinol ) and epichlorohydrin ; polyglycidyl ether esters produced by the reaction between a hydroxycarboxylic acid ( e . g ., p - oxybenzoic acid , beta - oxynaphthoic acid ) and epichlorohydrin ; polyglycidyl esters obtained from a polycarboxylic acid ( e . g ., phthalic acid , terephthalic acid ); glycidylamine compounds obtained from 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl methane , and m - aminophenol . the inherently flexible epoxy resins that are suitable for use in these compositions may be , for example , those formed by the reaction of glycidol with dimer fatty acids , or those that are commercially available , such as , an epoxy novolac resin sold under the tradename cardolite nc 547 , a product of cardolite corporation , the diglycidyl ester of linoleic dimer acid , sold under the tradename epon 871 , a product of shell chemical , and a glycidyl ether sold under the tradename der 732 or der 736 , a product of dow chemical . these inherently flexible epoxy resins will have weight per epoxy of about 250 to 800 , preferably 300 to 500 . if the epoxy resins used are those that are inherently flexible , the composition may be made without additional flexibilizing compounds , although such flexibilizing compounds may be added . however , if the epoxies are not inherently flexible , a flexibilizing compound is added to the epoxy resin composition . these flexibilizing compounds are typically long chain aliphatic compounds that are compatible and reactive with the epoxy . examples of suitable flexibilizing compounds are aliphatic amines such as those sold under the trademark jeffamine d - 2000 by huntsman corporation , epoxidized polybutadienes , and epoxy compounds such as those sold under the trademark epon 871 by shell chemical corporation . preferably the flexibilizing compounds are those that contain siloxane moieties . flexibilizing compounds that contain siloxane moieties will be particularly those with small , e . g ., methyl , substituents on the silicon atoms , to give fairly easy rotation about the sio axis . for identification purposes , the nomenclature of the siloxane compounds is commonly simplified by the use of the letters m , d , t , and q to represent monofunctional , difunctional , trifunctional , and quadrifunctional monomer units , respectively . for example , the monofunctional unit has the formula ( ch 3 ) 3 sio 0 . 5 and is represented by the symbol m ; the difunctional unit has the formula ( ch 3 ) 2 sio and is represented by the symbol d . if the symbol has a prime , for example d &# 39 ;, the unit has a substituent other than methyl , which must be specifically identified , for example , a phenyl substituent . using the above nomenclature , suitable and preferable siloxane compounds will be linear , have methyl substituents , and correspond to the formula md 6 - 20 m . in general , the curing catalyst can be any effective curing catalyst and is used in a catalytically effective amount . the preferred curing catalyst is an imidazole catalyst , which typically will be present in an amount of about 4 to 5 parts per hundred parts of epoxy plus siloxane . suitable imidazoles are imidazole , 2 - ethylimidazole , 2 - ethyl - 4 - methylimidazole , 2 - phenylimidazole , 2 - phenyl - 4 - methylimidazole , and 2 - undecylimidazole . other suitable catalysts include tertiary amines , phosphonium compounds , ammonium compounds , sulfonium compounds , and phosphines , such as are known in the art . the epoxy resin compositions are generally used in conjunction with additives to reinforce or physically strengthen the resultant adhesives or to act as electrical or thermal conductive fillers . examples of such fillers are silver or gold powders or flakes ; silica ; oxides , nitrides , borides , carbides , etc ., of various metals ; and carbon powder . these adhesives are suitably used for attaching silicon chips to lead frames , and in particular metal lead frames , in the manufacture of semiconductor devices . in a further embodiment , this invention is a semiconductor device consisting of a silicon chip or die bonded to a lead frame with an epoxy resin composition comprising an epoxy resin , a flexibilizing compound , and a curing catalyst and fillers , or an inherently flexible epoxy , optionally a flexibilizing compound , and a curing catalyst and fillers , and further comprising a polyhydroxyl compound having two or three hydroxyl groups , or a monohydroxyl compound having one or more phenyl groups , in a ratio by weight to the flexibilizing compound of from 1 : 3 to 1 : 10 . the following examples demonstrate the kinds of polyhydroxy compounds that are useful to control bleeding of epoxy resin compositions in which flexibilizing compounds were added to impart flexibility . the examples also demonstrate the ratio of polyhydroxy compound to flexibilizing compound that is effective , and suitable die attach formulations . an epoxy resin composition was prepared by blending a proprietary epoxy with a siloxane having a structure md 6 m ( as described before ) in the ratio by weight of siloxane to epoxy of 1 to 2 . 5 . various hydroxy compounds were added in amounts by weight to vary the ratio of hydroxy compound to siloxane . the compounds and ratios were as reported in table i . for some examples , the hydroxy compounds were first added to the epoxy and heated to melt , about 100 ° c ., then cooled , and the siloxane added after cooling . twenty parts by weight of the mixture of epoxy , siloxane , and hydroxy compound were then mixed with 80 parts of silver flake ( a conductive filler ), and a droplet of this composition placed on a metallized lead frame and cured in an oven at 175 ° c . for 30 minutes . optical microscopy was used to determine whether or not bleeding had occurred and its extent . a bleeding radius of 2 mil or less is deemed acceptable for industry purposes . the specific hydroxy compound and number of phenyl and hydroxyl groups on that compound , the weight ratio of hydroxy compound to flexibilizing compound ( siloxane ), and the presence or absence of bleeding are reported in table i . table i______________________________________ # of groups ratiohydroxy compound -- oh phenyl flex agent :-- oh bleeding______________________________________phenylethyl alcohol 1 1 3 : 1 none1 - dodecanol 1 3 : 1 & lt ; 2 mil1 - propanol 1 3 : 1 & gt ; 5 milethylene glycol 2 3 : 1 none ( anhydrous ) phenylethyl alcohol 1 1 6 : 1 none1 - dodecanol 1 6 : 1 & gt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 6 : 1 noneglycerol ( anhydrous ) 3 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milphenylethyl alcohol 1 1 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 mil ( anhydrous ) 1 - dodecanol 1 10 : 1 & gt ; 5 mil1 - phenyl - 1 , 2 - ethanediol 1 2 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 mil1 , 3 - dioxane - 5 , 5 - 2 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 mildimethanol1 , 3 - dioxane - 5 , 5 - 2 10 : 1 & lt ; 1 mildimethanol______________________________________ an epoxy resin composition was prepared by blending a bisphenol a epoxy , ( sold under the tradename epon 825 by shell chemical corporation ) with a siloxane having a structure md 6 m ( as described before ) in the ratio by weight of siloxane to epoxy of 1 to 0 . 75 . various hydroxy compounds were added in amounts by weight to vary the ratio of hydroxy compound to siloxane . the compounds and ratios were as reported in table ii . for some examples , the hydroxy compounds were first added to the epoxy and heated to melt , about 100 ° c ., cooled , and the siloxane added after cooling . twenty parts by weight of the mixture of epoxy , siloxane , and hydroxy compound were then mixed with 80 parts of silver flake , and a droplet of this composition placed on a metallized lead frame and cured in an oven at 175 ° c . for 30 minutes . the resin bleed was measured as in example i . table ii______________________________________ # of groups ratiohydroxy compound -- oh flex :-- oh bleeding______________________________________deionized h . sub . 2 o 1 3 : 1 & lt ; 2 milglycerol ( anhydrous ) 3 3 : 1 noneethylene glycol 2 3 : 1 & lt ; 2 mildeionized h . sub . 2 o 1 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 milglycerol ( anhydrous ) 3 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 6 : 1 & gt ; 2 mildeionized h . sub . 2 o 1 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milglycerol ( anhydrous ) 3 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 10 : 1 & gt ; 2 mil______________________________________ an epoxy resin composition was prepared by blending a bisphenol f epoxy ( sold under the tradename epon 862 by shell chemical corporation ) with a siloxane having a structure md 6 m ( as described before ) in the ratio by weight of siloxane to epoxy of 1 to 0 . 70 . various hydroxy compounds were added in amounts by weight to vary the ratio of hydroxy compound to siloxane . the compounds and ratios were as reported in table iii . for some examples , the hydroxy compounds were first added to the epoxy and heated to melt , about 100 ° c ., cooled , and the siloxane added after cooling . twenty parts by weight of the mixture of epoxy , siloxane , and hydroxy compound were then mixed with 80 parts of silver flake , and a droplet of this composition placed on a metallized lead frame and cured in an oven at 175 ° c . for 30 minutes . the amount of resin bleed was measured as in examples i and ii . table iii______________________________________ # of groups ratiohydroxy compound -- oh flex :-- oh bleeding______________________________________deionized h . sub . 2 o 1 3 : 1 noneglycerol 3 3 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 3 : 1 & lt ; 2 mildeionized h . sub . 2 o 1 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 milglycerol 3 6 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 6 : 1 & gt ; 2 mildeionized h . sub . 2 o 1 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milglycerol 3 10 : 1 & lt ; 2 milethylene glycol 2 10 : 1 & gt ; 2 mil______________________________________ a . an inherently flexible epoxy resin sold under the tradename epon 871 by shell chemical in 100 parts by weight was blended with 5 parts by weight of 2 - ethyl - 4 - methyl imidazole . this mixture in 25 parts was then blended with 75 parts by weight silver flake ( a conductive filler ), and a droplet of this composition placed on a metallized lead frame and cured in an oven at 175 ° c . for 30 minutes . the composition was observed for bleeding according to the above examples , bleeding occurred at greater than 5 mils . b . an epoxy resin in 100 parts by weight and having the structure ## str2 ## was blended with 5 parts by weight of 2 - ethyl - 4 - methyl imidazole . this mixture in 25 parts was then blended with 75 parts by weight silver flake , and a droplet of this composition placed on a metallized lead frame and cured in an oven at 175 ° c . for 30 minutes . the composition was observed for bleeding according to the above examples , and bleeding occurred at greater than 5 mils . c . each of the above two compositions , before mixing with the silver flakes , was admixed with 5 parts by weight of the following hydroxy compounds , representing a ratio of flexible epoxy to hydroxyl / phenyl compound of 100 to 5 . these compositions were cured and tested as described in the above examples . none of the compositions exhibited any bleeding . the hydroxy compounds tested were the following : 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bisphenol , 4 - benzyloxy phenol , a bisphenol f novolac resin , phenylethyl alcohol , and 3 , 4 - dimethyl phenol . performance as die attach adhesives . a control epoxy resin composition , which did not contain a polyhydroxy compound , and several epoxy resin compositions , which did contain polyhydroxy compounds , were prepared and tested for performance as die attach adhesives by measuring the die shear strength and radius of curvature after cure . die shear is a measure of the strength of the cured epoxy resin composition , and is the force required to remove a silicon chip bonded to a substrate with the cured epoxy composition . die shear can be a measure of both cohesive and adhesive strength , depending on the conditions to which the composite die / epoxy resin / substrate is subjected after cure . the epoxy resin compositions had the formulations as reported below in table v . twenty parts by weight of each of these formulations were blended with 80 parts by weight silver flake ( a conductive filler ), applied between the interface of a silicon die and a copper lead frame , and cured by heating at 175 ° c . for 60 minutes . die shear strength was measured on silicon chips ( 80 × 80 mil 2 ) using a hybrid machine products corp . die shear tester ( model 1750 )/ chatillon dfi 50 digital force gauge . the force required to remove the bonded die was read in kg units , and converted to a die shear strength in mpa averaged over five samples . tests were performed after cure ( i ) at room temperature ( rt die shear ), ( ii ) at 250 ° c . after heating for 250 ° c . for one minute ( 250 ° die shear ) ( to simulate wire bonding ), ( iii ) at room temperature after boiling in water for two hours ( wet rt die shear ); and ( iv ) at 250 ° c ., after boiling the die in water for two hours , and then heating at 250 ° c . for one minute ( wet / hot die shear ) ( intended to test resistance to moisture and the phenomenon known as &# 34 ; pop - corn &# 34 ;, a mechanical failure of fully encapsulated packages after moisture exposure during solder reflow process , 220 ° to 260 ° c .). the formulations were tested for radius of curvature ( roc ) ( flexibility ) on silicon chips ( 200 × 600 mil 2 ) after curing . measurements were taken at room temperature and at 250 ° c . after heating for 250 ° c . for one minute ( 250 °) on a hot plate using a tokyo seimitsu surfcom surface texture measuring instrument , reported in millimeter ( mm ) units , averaged over five samples . the sample formulations and results of the performance tests are reported in table v . the data show that the incorporation of hydroxy compounds prevented resin bleed without causing any loss in flexibility or adhesive properties . table v______________________________________sample a b c d______________________________________formula bis f 20 bis f 30 bis f 30 bis f 30in parts 2130 20 2130 20 2130 30 2130 30by weight epoxy 20 md . sub . 6 m 50 md . sub . 6 m 50 md . sub . 6 m 50 x dicy 4 dicy 4 dicy 4 md . sub . 6 m 40 dioxane 10 h . sub . 2 o 10 1 , 3 10 dicy 4 meth - dioxane - anol 5 , 5 - di - methanolbleed & gt ; 5 mil none none nonedie shearrt 2400 psi 2100 psi 2400 psi 2200 psi250 ° c . 330 psi 330 psi 280 psi 310 psiwet rt 1400 psi 1140 psi 1000 psi 1300 psiwet / hot 100 psi 140 psi 140 psi 120 psirocrt 285 mm 580 mm 620 mm250 ° c . 290 mm 580 mm 620 mm______________________________________ bis - f is bisphenol f epoxy sold under the tradename epon 862 by shell chemical corporation . 2130 is tegomer esi - 2130 , an epoxy - terminated polysiloxane , manufactured by goldschmidt , with the structure ## str3 ## while the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments , it is to be understood that many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , this invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims .

7Electricity

the invention can be implemented in numerous ways , including as a process , an apparatus , a system , a composition of matter , a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network wherein program instructions are sent over optical or communication links . in this specification , these implementations , or any other form that the invention may take , may be referred to as techniques . a component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task includes both a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task . in general , the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention . a detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention . the invention is described in connection with such embodiments , but the invention is not limited to any embodiment . the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives , modifications and equivalents . numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . these details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details . for the purpose of clarity , technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured . fig1 a is a diagram illustrating an example of an ideal signal and a signal with an offset . in the example shown , the signals are read signals associated with magnetic disk storage . signal 102 is an ideal signal . in some embodiments , values are stored magnetically as 0 &# 39 ; s or 1 &# 39 ; s on the recording media and are read back . signal 104 corresponds to ideal signal 102 but includes an offset . as shown in this example , the offset shifts the entire ideal signal up ( or down ) by some constant ( e . g ., a dc voltage ). where x is ideal signal 102 , o is the offset , n is the noise , and y is signal 104 . offset is a particular problem in perpendicular recording because perpendicular recording signals tend to have low frequency noise due to effects such as baseline wander . offset is also a problem when using a tunneling magnetoresistive ( tmr ) head , which exhibit noise whose power is inversely proportional with frequency , so at lower frequencies ( e . g ., closer to dc or an offset ), the noise power is higher . low frequency noise may be considered to be a time - varying offset . fig1 b is a diagram illustrating an example of an ideal signal and a signal with mra . in the example shown , the signals are read signals associated with magnetic disk storage . signal 102 is an ideal signal . signal 106 corresponds to ideal signal 102 but includes mra . as shown in this example , mra affects the signal y more at higher or larger magnitudes ( i . e ., | y |) than at lower magnitudes . in this example , signal 106 appears asymmetric ( goes more positive than negative ). in perpendicular recording , the signal | y | spends little or no time at or near 0 , so mra can cause nonlinearities in the signal in perpendicular recording . where x is ideal signal 102 , a is the mra coefficient ( ax 2 is an estimate of the mra ), n is the noise , and y is signal 106 . fig1 c is a diagram illustrating an example of an ideal signal and a signal with an offset and mra . in the example shown , the signals are read signals associated with magnetic disk storage . signal 102 is an ideal signal . signal 108 corresponds to ideal signal 102 but includes both offset and mra . where x is ideal signal 102 , a is the mra coefficient ( ax 2 is an estimate of the mra ), o is the offset , n is the noise , and y is signal 108 . when | y | is small , mra is small and the offset dominates in the signal y . when | y | is larger , both mra and offset are present in the signal y . feedback loops may be used to compensate for defects in the system . feedback loops compute an estimated error due to the defect and then change an appropriate circuit to compensate for the estimated error . an offset ( feedback ) loop is used to compensate for offset in the system . an mra ( feedback ) loop is used to compensate for mra in the system . an estimated offset error e o is used to update the offset loop , and an estimated mra error e m is used to update the mra loop . an estimate of the signal error e can be made , but it is not clear how much of the estimated error e is due to offset and how much of it is due to mra . however , some assumptions can be made based on the fact that the error due to mra is dominant at higher signal levels (| y |& gt ; threshold 1 ) and is smaller at lower signal levels (| y |& lt ; threshold 2 ). the estimated signal error may be modeled using the following equation : where e o = 0 when | y ( i )|& gt ; threshold 1 and e o = e ( i ) when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold 2 . where o is the offset compensation signal , k o is the loop gain , e o is the estimated offset error , y ( i ) is the signal at time i and e ( i ) is an estimate of the signal error at time i . e o is set to 0 when | y ( i )| is above threshold 1 because at higher values of | y ( i )|, the error is due to both mra and offset , and it is not clear how much is from offset . to avoid feeding back error due to mra into the offset loop , e o is set to 0 at this time . e o is set to e ( i ) when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold 2 because at lower values of | y ( i )|, the error is dominated by the effect of offset and there is little or no contribution from mra . therefore , the offset loop update equation can be updated at this time . thus , the offset loop is only updated when the signal y is less than a threshold ( to decouple the offset loop from the mra loop ). in a typical mra loop , the following update equation is used : where e m is set to 0 when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold and where mra is the mra compensation signal , k m is the loop gain , e m is the estimated mra error . y ( i ) is the signal at time i and e ( i ) is an estimate of the signal error at time i . e m is set to 0 when | y ( i )| is below threshold because for lower values of | y ( i )|, the effect of mra is minimal and the effect of offset is dominant . therefore , the mra equation is not updated at this time . when | y ( i )| is above threshold , both offset and mra contribute to error . however , typical mra loops are updated at this time . as a result , typical mra loops are still coupled to the offset loop . if the signal contains an offset , then the error will also contain a dc offset , causing the loop to saturate . in a typical mra loop , care must be taken to tune the bandwidth of the mra loop to be sufficiently slower ( i . e ., lower bandwidth ) than the bandwidth of the offset loop so that the loops will settle rather than fight each other . as such , the loop gains k o and k m , and the threshold ( s ), which affect the bandwidth , need to be carefully tuned to ensure that the loops settle . increasing the loop gain increases the speed of the loop . it would be desirable to better decouple the offset loop from the mra loop , particularly if there is offset in the signal y and / or when y contains mra effects , such as in perpendicular recording . in order to better decouple the offset loop from the mra loop , in some embodiments , the mra loop uses the following update equation : where e m is set to 0 when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold 2 and where mra is the mra compensation signal , k m is the loop gain , e m is the estimated mra error , y ( i ) is the signal at time i , and e ( i ) is an estimate of the signal error at time i . in some embodiments , e ( j ) is an estimate of the offset error . in some embodiments , j is the time at which the offset loop was last updated . in this case , e ( j ) is the most recently determined estimated offset error prior to the determination of the estimated signal error . in some embodiments , j is any time at which the offset loop was previously updated . in this case , e ( j ) is any previously determined estimated offset error . because the offset loop is only updated when the signal y is less than a threshold ( to decouple the offset loop from the mra loop ), e ( j ) is approximately equal to offset + noise ( o + n ), so when | y ( i )|& gt ; threshold 1 , subtracting e ( j ) from e ( i ) removes the offset and noise , leaving an estimate of substantially the mra error . in other words : e ( i )− e ( j )=( ax 2 + o + n )−( o + n )= ax 2 although the noise terms may not actually be the same , they may be averaged in a filter ( as more fully described below ) so that they are approximately the same and cancel each other out in the above equation . in some embodiments , a threshold is not used for the mra loop . in other words , mra = mra + k m ( e ( i )− e ( j )). this may work because e ( i )− e ( j ) when y is low is small or close to zero so it does not substantially affect the update . although two thresholds are shown in the examples herein , in other embodiments one threshold may be used ( i . e ., threshold 1 = threshold 2 ). having one threshold may speed up the loops and / or permit more samples to be used ( e . g ., instead of discarding information greater than threshold 1 but less than threshold 2 ). in other embodiments , any number of thresholds may be used . for example , there may be different thresholds used for the offset loop and for the mra loop . in some embodiments , the thresholds overlap ( i . e ., threshold 1 & gt ; threshold 2 ). this technique is not as sensitive to the bandwidth of the loop , and therefore the threshold ( s ) and loop gains do not have to be as carefully tuned or tuned at all . fig1 d is a diagram illustrating an example of some thresholds that may be set . in this example , an example of a received signal y is shown along with the regions formed by the threshold values . in some embodiments , thresholds th 1 , th 2 , | th 3 |, and | th 4 | are the same , i . e ., th 1 = th 2 =| th 3 |=| th 4 |. in some embodiments , th 1 =| th 4 | and th 2 =| th 3 |. for each region , the values of e 0 and e m are shown , as defined above . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system for removing errors due to mra , gain , and offset from a signal . in this example , system 200 is shown to include adder 202 , variable gain amplifier ( vga ) 204 , mra corrector 206 , continuous time filter ( ctf ) 208 , a / d converter 210 , finite impulse response ( fir ) filter 212 , detector 214 , error generator 216 , multipliers ( scalers ) 224 , 230 , and 236 , loop filters ( lf ) 220 , 228 , and 234 , and d / a converters ( dac ) 218 , 226 , and 232 . lfs 220 , 228 , and 234 perform averaging and may comprise an integrator . a signal y is received from a read channel , such as a perpendicular recording channel . an offset correction voltage v o ( e . g ., corresponding to o above ) is added to signal y via adder 202 . the output of adder 202 is input to vga 204 whose gain is adjustable based on vga input v g , which is a gain correction . the output of vga 204 is input to mra corrector 206 , which removes mra from the signal based on mra corrector input v m ( mra above ). the output of mra corrector 206 is input to ctf 208 , whose output is input to a / d 210 , whose output is input to fir 212 and error generator 216 . the output of fir 212 is input to detector 214 , which outputs , an estimate of y . both the output of a / d 210 and are input to error generator 216 . in various embodiments , detector 214 is a decision feedback equalizer ( dfe ), viterbi decoder , or other detector . error generator 216 is used to determine and output e m , e g , and e o . error generator 216 performs the threshold comparisons to output the appropriate values of e m and e o as defined above . three feedback loops are shown : an mra loop , a gain loop , and an offset loop . the mra loop includes multiplier 224 , lf 220 , dac 218 , and mra 206 . e m is scaled by multiplier 224 by k m , and input to lf 220 , which performs averaging . the output of lf 220 is input to dac 218 , whose output v m is fed back to mra corrector 206 . k m is the loop gain ; adjusting k m adjusts the bandwidth of the mra loop . the threshold ( s ) used in error generator 216 to determine the value of e m also affects the bandwidth of the loop . mra corrector 206 uses v m to remove mra error from signal y . in some embodiments , mra corrector 206 performs the function y = x + kx 2 where x is the input to mra corrector 206 , k is v m , and y is the output of mra corrector 206 . in some embodiments , the kx 2 term substantially cancels out the mra in x . the gain loop includes multiplier 230 , lf 228 , dac 226 , and vga 204 . e g is scaled by multiplier 230 by k g , and input to lf 228 , which performs averaging . the output of lf 228 is input to dac 226 , whose output v g is fed back to vga 204 . in some embodiments , e g = sign ( y )· e ( i ). vga 204 uses v g to remove the gain error from the signal y . k g is the loop gain ; adjusting k g adjusts the bandwidth of the gain loop . the offset loop includes multiplier 236 , lf 234 , dac 232 , and adder 202 . e o is scaled by multiplier 236 by k o , and input to lf 234 , which performs averaging . the output of lf 234 is input to dac 232 , whose output v o is fed back to adder 202 . adder 202 uses v o to remove offset error from signal y . k o is the loop gain ; adjusting k o adjusts the bandwidth of the offset loop . the threshold ( s ) used in error generator 216 to determine the value of e o also affects the bandwidth of the loop . fig3 is a diagram illustrating an example of offset and mra loop trajectories obtained in some embodiments . in this example , both the offset and the mra compensation signal are scaled to fit on the same plot . the x - axis is time and the y - axis is the offset o and mra compensation signal m . the initial offset is located at the origin , and the correct offset and the initial and final mra compensation signals are located at the same position on the y - axis . the plots for the traditional offset loop and the traditional mra loop result when the following mra update equation is used : where e m is set to 0 when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold 2 and e m = e ( i ) when | y ( i )|& gt ; threshold 1 . the plots for the offset loop with modified mra loop and modified mra loop result when the following mra update equation is used : where e m is set to 0 when | y ( i )|& lt ; threshold 2 and e m = e ( i )− e ( j ) when | y ( i )|& gt ; threshold 1 . as shown , the trajectory for the offset loop with modified mra loop takes about 4000 time units ( e . g ., clock cycles ) to reach the correct offset , whereas the trajectory for the traditional offset loop takes about 8000 time units to reach the correct offset . similarly , the trajectory for the modified mra loop takes about does not move from the correct mra compensation value , whereas the trajectory for the traditional mra loop jumps up and then settles back to the correct mra compensation value after about 6000 time units . although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding , the invention is not limited to the details provided . there are many alternative ways of implementing the invention . the disclosed embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive .

6Physics

coupled dielectric resonators are used to create compact microphotonic filters . the dielectric resonator is usually a ring , a racetrack , a quarter - wave shifted grating or another type of dielectric microcavity . these filters are commonly designed by using resonators with identical uncoupled resonant frequencies ( prior art ). an uncoupled resonant frequency is the frequency experienced by a resonator when it isolated from its environment ( isolated from any other dielectric structure such as waveguides and resonators ). as the first embodiment of this invention , it is stated that these filters should be designed with resonators of different uncoupled resonator frequencies to take into account the mostly repeatable frequency shifts that occur when the resonators are coupled to their environment and the mostly repeatable frequency shifts coming from the fabrication process . precise modification of the resonant frequency of a resonator is usually done by employing impermanent mechanisms like thermal tuning or carrier injection tuning ( prior art ). these mechanisms require power consumption and a control circuit . in many cases a permanent modification is favored . in prior art , permanent mechanisms such as global thin film deposition , global etching , stress introduction and the photorefractive effect have been employed to tune the center frequency of complete filters and hence to mostly equally modify the resonances of all resonators forming the filter . in addition , stress induction and the photorefractive can only introduce small changes in resonant frequency . it is important to note that only thermal tuning has been used in prior art to change the resonant frequency of an individual resonator of a high - order filter . all the other mechanisms were employed to change the center frequency of a complete optical filter and not of its individual components . fabrication techniques to introduce precise and permanent modifications of resonant frequencies of individual dielectric microcavities are presented in this invention . these techniques can be applied to individual resonators within a high - order filter and to single resonators coupled to waveguides . introducing precise and permanent modifications to the resonant frequency of a dielectric resonator is a difficult problem , whose solutions are necessary in fabrication of filters formed of resonators with slightly different uncoupled resonant frequencies and for other applications . the importance of correcting frequency shifts will first be discussed . then , the fabrication techniques forming the other embodiments of the invention will be presented . in filter response synthesis , precise control of the resonance frequencies and mutual couplings is required . herein , a frequency shift in a resonator is identified as an effect that can hinder the realization of the desired response if left uncompensated . a frequency shift can originate from different phenomena that will now be described . first , a coupling - induced frequency shift ( cifs ) is due to the perturbation of a resonant mode , via the index of an external coupled structure that altering the resonant frequency . this is a purely optical effect and has nothing to do with the fabrication process employed . this frequency shift can be negative or positive depending on the dominant of several contributing effects . for a resonator perturbed by a nearby dielectric object with no relevant modes of its own , the cifs is negative for a positive index perturbation . this is an intuitive result if one considers the wave equation , or its stationary integral for frequency : a positive refractive index perturbation is introduced , so the frequency must decrease . in the case of adjacent evanescently - coupled resonators , however , the basis of modes employed to understand the coupled resonator is normally not orthogonal . a second , positive cifs contribution then arises due to the shared cross - energy of the modes and the net cifs could be found to be positive . other contributions arise form deformations in the mode field pattern due to the index perturbation . an exemplary 2d fdtd simulation 4 of a single te racetrack resonator 2 ( l = 34 . 6 μm ) add / drop filter in which the unintuitive positive cifs was first observed is shown in fig1 a . the free - running frequency is found as 1551 . 134 nm , but under coupling to two bus waveguides it shifted to values given in the table 6 in fig1 b , resulting in a positive cifs of up to + 30 ghz or − 0 . 25 nm . also , fig1 b shows the results 8 of an analytical model of the frequency shift . other mostly repeatable resonant - frequency shifts appear during the fabrication of the filter . several fabrication effects may alter the dimensions of a resonator and , thus , its resonant frequency . a partial list of these effects is : it should be noted that some of this fabrication effects may alter the refractive index of the resonator and not necessarily the resonator &# 39 ; s dimensions . such an alteration will also result in a frequency shift of the resonator . while the impact of a frequency shift on a single - resonator filter is a simple displacement in frequency of the spectral response , the impact of a frequency shift on higher - order filters is more serious . the effect of non - degenerate resonant frequencies is shown in fig2 for a 100 ghz - wide series - coupled third - order microring - resonator - based chebyshev ( 0 . 2 db ripple ) add / drop filter model . the plot shows an ideal response with ring loss included , but no frequency shift ; and the same filter with a + 20 ghz frequency shift in the middle microring . a significant degradation of the thru - port rejection is seen . in addition , the drop spectrum acquires a slight asymmetry and ripple . also , fig2 shows the measured spectral response of a series - coupled third - order microring resonator based add / drop filter fabricated in sin by electron - beam lithography that experimentally demonstrates the existence of such frequency shifts and their deleterious effects . note that neither an asymmetric coupling nor ring loss distribution can account for an asymmetric spectrum such as the one shown in fig2 . to correct for the frequency shift , one needs to adjust the optical resonance frequencies of the resonators . the first embodiment of the invention is now re - stated . the frequencies need to be pre - distorted by the amount of expected frequency shifts . hence , for better performance , coupled - dielectric resonator filters should be designed with resonators of different uncoupled resonator frequencies to take into account the cifs and other mostly repeatable frequency shifts . to adjust or pre - distort the resonant frequency , one needs to change the optical path length in the resonator . in general , it means changing the physical path length or the effective index of the resonator . the physical path length is modified by changing the resonator dimensions along the direction of light propagation . on the other hand , the effective index is modified by changing the material optical properties or the dimensions transversal to light propagation . for instance , in the case of a ring resonator , the physical , path length corresponds to the circumference of the ring and the effective index corresponds to the propagation constant in the waveguide defining the ring . the propagation constant depends on the refractive indices of the materials used and on the cross - section ( shape and dimensions ) of the waveguide . there are numerous ways of correcting the resonant frequency . the best approach will usually depend on the fabrication tools available and on the fabrication process used . a series - coupled third - order microring resonator will be used for practical examples . it will be appreciated that the proposed solutions are not limited to third - order microring resonators . they can be applied to any dielectric microcavity . for instance , the particular resonator could be a ring , a racetrack or a quarter - wave shifted grating . the easiest and the most economical solution will most often be scaling the resonators in need for frequency trimming . for ring resonators , a small change in the circumference of the microring or the width of the waveguide is required . the main difficulty is to precisely control the correction as the dimensional change needed is often on the order of a couple of nanometers . the invention presents a way to introduce such modifications in practice . the second embodiment of the invention is particularly useful if maskless lithography is used . by maskless lithography , one means any lithography that does not use a mask such as scanning electron - beam lithography ( sebl ), focused ion - beam lithography or zone plate array lithography . in such techniques , the pixel size is often much bigger than a nanometer . hence , to precisely trim the resonant frequency , one needs to use dimensional changes resultant from dose changes . a higher dose will create slightly larger features . on a microring resonator , a higher dose will change the width of the waveguide and hence the inner and outer radius of the microring . this will modify the resonant frequency by simultaneously changing the effective index and the physical path length through the resonator ( the outer radius being where most of the guided light travels ). fig3 a shows the experimental demonstration of frequency correction by dose variations introduced to a middle ring resonator of a third - order series - coupled microring filter fabricated by sebl . the relative dose increase on the middle microring is expressed in function of the outer rings dose . the dose increase created a displacement of the edge of the 800 - nm - wide waveguide defining the microring with an 8 - micron outer radius . the dose can easily be controlled to within , for instance , 1 / 10 th of one percent , which illustrate the power and precision of this correction technique . in this particular example , the difference between the frequency shifts experienced by the inner ring and the outer rings before dose compensation is 126 ghz . out of this total frequency shift difference , 42 ghz is due to the cifs and the remaining 84 ghz comes from the fabrication process . a 3 . 9 % dose increase on the inner ring offers the best inner ring resonant frequency correction in this particular example . fig3 b - 3c illustrates dimensional changes introduced to a ring resonator by changing the dose in sebl . in particular , fig3 b shows the displacement of the edge for 800 - nm - wide waveguides defining rings with an 8 - micron outer radius at different positions in the filter . fig3 c shows the difference introduced by the dose change in some critical dimensions . the third embodiment of this invention is particularly useful when the previous embodiment cannot be applied directly . this will be the case if conventional lithography is used . by conventional lithography , one means any lithography using a mask such as photolithography , extreme - uv lithography , imprint lithography or x - ray lithography . precise dimensional changes need to be introduced in the mask . this can be done during mask making by using the dose change described above . alternatively , a dose change can not be necessary as most of the projection systems employ a mask to chip reduction of about 4 to 5 times . then , the pixel size of the maskless lithography system employed for mask fabrication is effectively reduced on the chip by the mask - to - chip reduction factor . hence , modifying a cavity dimensions by a pixel or more on the mask may provide a sufficiently precise correction . if scaling the resonators is impractical , a small change in the effective index of the resonator can be introduced by adding non - resonant structures . by modifying the transverse mode distribution by overlapping the mode of the resonator with a non - resonant structure , the effective index of the resonator can be corrected . for ring resonators , a secondary non - resonant ring is necessary . the location of this non - resonant structure depends mainly on lithographic resolution . the most economical solution will usually not require adding additional layers to the structure . fig4 a - 4d shows how it can be implemented in third - order ring resonators to correct the frequency shift of the middle microring . it is important to note that this embodiment of the invention is very different from the prior art where the index of the cladding is slightly modified to change the resonant frequency of a micro - ring resonator . in this invention , dielectric structures are introduced lithographically and permanently . the cladding index is not used for the resonant frequency modification . fig4 a illustrates a top view of a third - order ring resonator 10 with a secondary ring in the middle 12 . fig4 b shows the cross - section of a third - order ring resonator 10 with a substrate 29 , vertical bus - to - ring coupling , and a secondary ring 18 at the ring layer 14 . both the ring layer 14 and bus layer 16 include high 20 and low index 22 layers . note the secondary ring layer 18 is formed on the ring layer 14 but in other embodiments shown in fig4 c the secondary ring layer can be formed in the bus layer 16 . note in a multilayer implementation , where the bus waveguides are on a different layer than the rings , it may be more practical to include the perturbing structure on the bus level since both the cifs and the correcting frequency shift introduced by the secondary ring 24 are then dependent on the separation between the ring 14 and bus layer 16 , as shown in fig4 c . for a single layer filter , a secondary ring 26 can be added to the interior of middle ring 28 to lower its frequency , as shown in fig4 d . other implementations on this general theme are certainly possible . the forth embodiment of this invention is particularly useful when a resonance modification is needed after the resonator was fabricated . in some cases , the most practical solution may be to modify the resonator after it has been fabricated . for instance , a resonator can be corrected after a measurement of the exact frequency shift was made , or the next fabricated resonators could be corrected even if the same mask is used . the resonant frequency of a given resonator will be corrected by slightly removing or adding material . this will change the effective index of the resonator . a technique for modifying the central frequency of complete filters by adding and removing material has already been presented in prior art ( lim et al ., mit ). in this embodiment of the invention a more powerful technique that allows one to modify the resonance frequencies of individual resonators coupled to other resonators within a higher - order filter is proposed . this invention allows to correct for frequency shifts , which the technique already known in prior art cannot provide . the selective modification of a subset of resonators within a high - order filter is created by first lithographically defining the area where the resonator to be modified is present . hence , the region to be altered needs first to be defined by aligned lithography , as shown in fig5 a . note that either the region encompassing the whole filter structure 34 except the resonator to be modified 32 or the region encompassing the resonator to be modified 30 alone need to be lithographically outlined . then , a dielectric material can be deposited and lifted off , as shown in fig5 b . either the dielectric material can be added to the whole resonator structure 38 except the middle ring structure 36 or to the middle ring to be modified 40 alone . alternatively , a shallow etch can be performed on the lithographically defined area . if the resonator is a buried ring or racetrack , its resonant frequency can also be raised by etching a hole in the middle or on the top of the resonator . note that these techniques are particularly useful if they correct already fabricated resonators but can also be implemented within a standard fabrication scheme . fig6 a - 6b illustrate in cross - section the post - fabrication frequency trimming by adding or removing material in a lithographically defined region of a third - order filter with vertical bus - to - ring coupling with modification of the middle ring only . note this arrangement is similar to the arrangement shown in fig4 a but the frequency trimming is obtained by directly modifying the resonator instead of adding non - resonant dielectric structures . fig6 a shows frequency matching by a shallow etch of the secondary ring 42 . fig6 b shows frequency matching by deposition of a thin dielectric layer 44 on the middle ring 46 . although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to several preferred embodiments thereof , various changes , omissions and additions to the form and detail thereof , can be made therein , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .

6Physics

the present invention was designed for and is particularly adapted for use in the post hydration processing section of an automated contact lens production facility . contact lenses molded in an automated production line , such as that described in co - pending application u . s . ser . no . 08 / 258 , 654 entitled &# 34 ; consolidated contact lens molding &# 34 ;; hydrated in a hydration system as described in u . s . ser . no . 08 / 258 , 856 , now abandoned entitled &# 34 ; system for handling contact lenses during hydration &# 34 ;; and automatically inspected as described in u . s . ser . no . 07 / 993 , 756 entitled &# 34 ; lens inspection method and apparatus &# 34 ; now abandoned are particularly benefited by the present invention . the present invention envisions a multi - purpose disposable lens package carrier which transports a contact lens during inspection thereof , and serves as a portion of the final packaging after inspection . a suitable package carrier 20 is illustrated in fig1 and is formed from injection molded or thermal formed plastic sheet material , such as polypropylene and includes a planar essentially rectangularly shaped base member 34 having an angularly depending wall portion 38 at one end thereof forming a first flange member and a pair of registration flanges 33 ( a ), 33 ( b ), one of which is visible in fig1 , at the other end thereof which are used to align the package carrier for robotic handling . this package carrier is more fully described in copending application u . s . ser . no . 995 , 607 , now abandoned the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference thereto . registration notches 31 ( a ),( b ) are provided on either side of the base 34 to cooperate with registration pins on various support pallets used in the processing and packaging operations to register the package carrier and lens for further handling or treatment . offset from the center of the package is a cavity 36 integrally formed therein which is of an essentially semi - spherical configuration , generally in conformance with a curvilinear shape of a contact lens ( not shown ) which is adapted to be stored therein in a sealed condition while immersed in a suitable sterile aqueous solution in a manner similar to that described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 691 , 820 to martinez ; which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention , the disclosure of which being incorporated herein by reference thereto . the height &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; of flange member 38 depending from the planar base member 34 is complimentary to the height or depth of cavity 36 , and provides for self alignment of the package carrier in cooperation with depending flanges 33 ( a ),( b ) on specially configured pallet carriers , as will hereinafter be described . depending flange 38 is also used in the final packaging of the product in cooperation with a plurality of generally &# 34 ; chevron - shaped &# 34 ; ridges 32 , which will subsequently assist in supporting the cavity structure of an inverted and superimposed package carrier when said packages are to be cartoned for final distribution . the cavity 36 also includes a plurality of tick marks 37 which are used to assist in holding a contact lens in the centered position in the cavity during the removal of deionized water at one of the post hydration processing stations . the package carrier is also equipped with an annular flange 39 which is used for heat sealing a foil laminate cover in order to provide a hermetic seal for the contact lens during final distribution . a cut - out 35 is used to facilitate gripping the flange 38 and the package when the cover stock or foil laminate is removed by the consumer to use the lens . base member 34 also includes a smooth planar surface 34 ( a ) to provide a suitable engagement zone for vacuum grippers on the upper side , and a vacuum rail on the lower side , which are used to transport the package carrier during various stages of the operation . an inspection carrier for transporting the package carriers through the automated lens inspection system is illustrated in fig1 . the inspection carrier 10 includes a first and second row 10 ( a ), 10 ( b ) of cavities 40 which receive the bowl 36 of the package carrier and provide an optical sight path for the automated lens inspection system . each of the intermediate registration pins 41 engage a package carrier on either side , with the end registration pins 41 ( a ) engaging a single package . these registration pins engage the registration notches 31 ( a ),( b ) in the package carriers and provide for precise registration of the package carrier in the longitudinal dimension of the inspection carrier while a pair of hard edges 42 ( a ), 42 ( b ) provide a reference point for the downwardly descending flanges 33 ( a ), 33 ( b ), which together with pins 41 register the carrier package against rotational skewing . the inspection pallet 10 is further provided with three registration openings 43 on either side of the pallet which are used to transport the pallet through the automatic lens inspection station and to lock the pallet in place during loading and unloading of the package carriers . the inspection pallet is further provided with a pair of grooves 44 ( a ), 44 ( b ) which provide a positive grip for an overhead transport mechanism that places and then removes the inspection pallet from the automatic lens inspection system . a pair of slanted faces 45 provide clearance for the downwardly descending flange member 38 of the package carrier 20 . as illustrated in fig3 an injection mold machine 30 is used to mold the polypropylene lens carriers 20 which serve a dual purpose in the invention concept . first , to provide a carrier for the inspection of the lens by the automated lens inspection system , and secondly , to provide a receptacle for the final packaging of the lens for distribution to end use consumers . these package carriers are molded in predetermined array , typically in a 4 × 4 cluster of sixteen package carriers per mold cycle , and removed from the injection mold by a robotic transfer means 60 having a rapidly reciprocating low mass transport carrier 62 . the carrier 62 includes a hand member 64 having a plurality of vacuum gripper means thereon which are arranged to correspond to the array of mold cavities within the injection molding machine 30 . carrier 62 reciprocates along support member 66 and is rotatable from a vertical orientation as illustrated in fig3 to a horizontal orientation necessary to place the packaged carriers into a secondary transfer shuttle 68 . secondary transfer shuttle 68 is used to transport a plurality , i . e . sixteen of the package carriers from a first receiving position 68 ( a ) illustrated in fig3 to a second position 68 ( b ) where the package carriers are picked up by a robotic handling device 50 . robotic handling device 50 is articulated , having first and second arms 51 , 52 and a vertically reciprocating arm and hand ( not shown ) having a plurality of vacuum gripping means thereon which engage each of the package carriers transported by the transfer shuttle 68 . the package carriers 20 are then removed from the transfer shuttle 68 and placed on an inspection pallet 10 at a pallet loading station 11 . in the preferred embodiment the package carriers are molded in a 4 × 4 array to maximize the efficiencies inherent in such an array for molding , which are transported in the inspection pallet 10 in a 2 × 8 array . when these two arrays are used , robotic handling device 50 makes two separate transfers , and transfers a 2 × 4 array in each transfer . the loaded pallet 10 is then moved by conveyor 12 ( a ) to a deionized water injection station 16 wherein each of the package carriers transported on the inspection pallet are partially filled with degassed and deionized water . the inspection pallet is then transferred by a push conveyor 17 to a lens loading area 18 where it is batched with a second pallet to provide a contiguous loading area with thirty - two package carriers , each of which has been dosed with degassed and deionized water . the present invention utilizes degassed and deionized water with a small amount of surfactant therein as an inspection media for the automatic lens inspection system described in u . s . ser . no . 07 / 993 , 756 now abandoned . when only deionized water is used in the package carrier bowl , friction or hydrophobic attraction between the contact lens and the surfaces of the carrier that form the recesses may occasionally prevent the lenses from moving or sliding completely into the desired , predetermined positions . for example , in one known process , contact lenses are formed from a liquid hydrogel monomer , which is polymerized in the presence of an inert diluent such as boric acid ester , as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 495 , 313 . the inert diluent fills up the spaces in the hydrogel lens during polymerization , and the diluent is subsequently exchanged for deionized water during a hydration process . after this hydration process is completed , small amounts of the acid groups may remain on the lens surface . when the lens is placed inside the recess of the lens carrier , these acid groups may cause the lens to stick to the surface of the bowl of the carrier . without freedom of movement , the lens might not move completely into the desired predetermined position . when this happens and the lens is subsequently inspected using an automatic lens inspection system , the lens may be rejected for being outside the field of view , or may otherwise be erroneously identified as irregular or imperfect . in application u . s . ser . no . 08 / 258 , 266 now abandoned , entitled &# 34 ; a method of positioning ophthalmic lenses &# 34 ;, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto , a solution to this problem was described in which a small amount of surfactant was added to the deionized water . the surfactant reduces the friction and retards the hydrophobic attraction between the lens and the surface of the holder forming the recess , helping to insure that the lens is pulled into the desired , predetermined position . any suitable surfactant may be used in the practice of the invention . for example , the surfactant may be polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monooleate , more commonly known as polysorbate 80 , or tween 80 or tween 80k c . it has been found that the addition of tween 80 at a concentration as low as 25 parts per million parts of solution allows the lens to move in package carrier 20 without sticking . larger amounts of the surfactant may be used , and for example , the weight percent concentration of the surfactant in the solution may be between 5 . 0 % and 0 . 01 %. the surfactant may be mixed in any suitable liquid carrier , such as deionized water , to form the desired solution . preferably , the surfactant concentration in solution is in the lower end of the above - given range , and for example , the surfactant concentration may be below fifty parts per million parts of deionized water . using the surfactant at this lower concentration helps to avoid , or to reduce , any foaming or bubbling of the surfactant in the solution and helps to reduce subsequently the surfactant concentration below a predetermined level . degassed water is preferred to the prevent the formation of air or gas bubbles when the water emerges from a pumped high pressure fluid line into a low pressure ( atmospheric ) environment . when deionized water which has not been degassed is used , small air bubbles may form in the package before the lens is transferred or , on the contact lens when it is transferred to the package carrier . these bubbles are formed from dissolved gasses in the deionized water which are &# 34 ; seeded &# 34 ; by the lens or a small irregularity in the package carrier surface . the apparatus for degassing the deionized water is illustrated in fig1 and 13 . fig1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the degas module , while fig1 is a detailed elevation view as the degas unit . deionized water is provided through input line 112 from a deionized water source , which may be the same source as that used for hydration . if drawn from a container , a optional pump 114 may be provided . the deionized water then passes through filter 118 in order to remove extraneous particulate contaminates that may be present in the water . the deionized water is then provided to the inlet 121 of the degas unit 122 . within the degas unit , the deionized water is divided among a plurality of tubes 124 , and then recombined into a degas unit discharge 126 . the degas unit is operated under a low ambient pressure typically from 4 to 25 torr which is provided by vacuum pump 128 . this vacuum pump is attached to the degas unit 122 by line 130 and discharges the excess air from the degas unit by way of line 132 . after the deionized water exits degas unit 122 by discharge line 126 , it passes through line 136 ( a ),( b ) into manifolds 138 ( a ),( b ). the manifolds are used as a common source to supply a plurality of precision dose pumps 140 that fill individual contact lens package carriers at the dosing station 16 and the robotic transfer array 102 mounted on robotic transfer device 100 . the pumps 140 used to pump the degassed and deionized water to manifold 138 are f . m . i . pumps ( fluid metering , inc ., oyster bay , n . y .) that are mounted to drive units manufactured by oyster bay pump works , inc ., oyster bay , n . y . these pumps provide precision doses of degassed and deionized water solution to pre - wet the package surface thereby reducing bubble formation and lens sticking , to avoid overfilling ( i . e . water on the sealing area of the package ) and to promote the proper water level for the inspection system . turning now to fig1 , there is shown in greater detail the monomer degas unit 122 . the degas unit is comprised of a pressure boundary consisting of an outer cylindrical wall 144 , a top plate 146 and a bottom plate 148 . contained within the cylindrical side wall 144 is a port 130 , which is connected to vacuum pump 128 ( not shown ). top plate 146 and bottom plate 148 are attached to the cylindrical side walls 144 by use of flanges 150 compressed upon o - rings 152 and 154 found on the bottom and top plates , respectively . compression of the o - rings and attachments of plates 146 and 148 to flanges 150 is accomplished by bolts 156 that attach the plates to the flanges . passing through top plate 146 is the water inlet line 121 . this inlet line passes through the top plate 146 , divides within the chamber 122 by means of a &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; connector into two or more lines 157 of equal length . lines 157 are preferably of equal length in order to provide equal back pressure resulting in equal flow through both lines to two separate headers 158 . each of these headers is connected to ten silicon tubes 160 which are permeable to gas . the tubes 160 are arranged in a 3 - 4 - 3 offset array , 0 . 300 spacing center - to - center . the flow through the tubes is from the bottom up in order to fill the tubes and not entrain voids in the liquid . a static mixer 170 is provided in each of the tubes 160 to increase the efficiency of mass transfer . these static mixtures are made of delrin , 1 / 4 inch in diameter and 6 inches long , as produced by koflo , inc . of carrie , ill . the internal structure of the degas unit stands off the bottom of chamber with stainless steel pipe 167 supporting delrin blocks 168 at the desired separation and these blocks , in turn , support manifolds 158 and 162 containing therebetween extended gas permeable tubes 160 . alternately the degas unit may be suspended from top flange 146 . during its time of residence in the silicon tube 160 in the low pressure degas chamber 144 , dissolved gasses migrate out of the deionized water through tube wall 160 , drawn out by the vacuum pump through chamber outlet 130 . as the water approaches the top of the chamber it is essentially free of dissolved gasses . the silicon tubes near the top of the chamber are connected to second headers 162 which combine silicon tubes 160 back into common tubes 164 . these tubes may also be made of a silicon , or may be made of an impervious material . they are of the same length in order to avoid pressure differences which could result in flow imbalances . tubes 164 are then connected in a &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; fashion to provide a single degas unit outlet 26 . the preferred material for the gas permeable tubing is stht tubing produced by sanitech inc . of andover , n . j . from q74780 medical grade silicone rubber manufactured by dow corning of midland , mich . the apparatus is arranged so that each set of tubes 124 contains ten tubes , each 1 / 4 inch inner diameter with a wall thickness of 1 / 32 inch , having a 80 durometer hardness . the apparatus of the present invention that prepares the contact lenses for inspection and subsequent packaging is best illustrated in fig1 which is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in fig2 and 3 with particular emphasis on the transition between the hydration line and the post - hydration line of the present invention . the present invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with the invention disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 08 / 258 , 556 , now u . s . pat . no . 5 , 476 , 111 entitled &# 34 ; automated method and apparatus for hydrating soft contact lenses &# 34 ;, assigned to the assignee of the present invention , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto . as illustrated in fig1 a second hydration carrier 860 having a top chamber plate mounted thereon is advanced into the separation station 120 for removal of the top chamber plate and transferred to the return conveyor 141 . the hydration base emerges from the separation station 120 to the position illustrated at 860 ( a ) having a plurality , e . g ., thirty - two contact lenses 8 therein , with a single lens carried in each of the convex lens carriers attached thereto . an articulated robotic transfer device 100 having an adjustable 4 × 8 array 102 of convex lens carriers then positions the array over the second hydration carrier 860 ( a ) as illustrated in fig6 and 7 ( a ). as illustrated in fig7 ( a ), a single contact lens 8 is carried within the concave lens carrier 861 and is positioned immediately below a convex lens carrier element 104 mounted on the 4 × 8 array 102 . the concave carrier 861 includes at least one port 862 for introducing a fluid between the surface of the concave lens carrier element , and the lens 8 . the fluid is supplied through a channel 866 cut into the lower side of upper plate member 867 , which communicates with a fluid manifold and a plurality of upstanding fluid connectors 863 which extend above the surface of the concave lens carrier elements 861 as best illustrated in fig6 . the fluid connectors 863 are adapted to engage fluid couplings 864 formed on the underside of the 4 × 8 array 102 . each of these couplings is connected to a fluid conduit 874 which supplies a transfer fluid for the transfer of the contact lens 8 from the concave lens holding means 861 to the convex lens holding means 104 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig6 and in particular for the transfer of contact lenses from the hydration carrier 860 to the robotic array 102 , a pneumatic fluid transfer is desired , and thus conduits 874 provide pressurized air to the coupling members 864 which in turn supply the pressurized air to fluid coupling 863 to the channel passageway 866 , and the port 862 . as illustrated in fig7 ( a ), the contact lens 8 is still wet having recently been hydrated and flushed in the hydration station . further , the lens has been hydrated with deionized water having a small amount of surfactant therein which may be advantageously employed to promote the handling of the wet contact lens by centering the lens within the concave surface of lens holding means 861 . when the air pressure lines 874 are actuated , a puff of air will emerge through the port 862 and lift the contact lens upwardly from the surface of the concave carrier and into engagement with the convex lens carrier element 104 . while the lens will adhere to element 104 with or without the surfactant , the surfactant wets the surface of the convex carrier element 104 and promotes adhesion thereto by virtue of the surface tension of the deionized water and the surrounding atmospheric pressure . in the transfer , it is desirable to position each of the convex carrier elements 104 within 1 . 5 mm of the lens to ensure a direct and precise transfer . after transfer of the lens 8 to the convex element 104 , the robotic transfer device then moves the array of lenses to a &# 34 ; bubble blow off &# 34 ; station 70 illustrated in fig3 . in fig1 the 4 × 8 array 102 overlies station 70 . the bubble blow off station 70 includes a manifold arrangement similar to manifold 860 with a plurality of cup members 106 , each of which has a concave surface 108 of approximately the same configuration as the convex surface of the second lens carrier element 104 . while a concave surface such as surface 108 has been found to be desirable , a single jet device will also provide the same function . the concave surface 108 also includes at least one port 110 defined therein for admission of pressurized fluid through a central passageway 109 formed in the cup member . the use of a small amount of surfactant in the deionized water promotes the transfer of the lens from first to second carrier elements , but also enables the formation of small air bubbles 105 in the layer of deionized water which coats the contact lens 8 . by subjecting the lens to a jet of pressurized fluid , the small bubbles 105 are migrated outwardly and dissipated prior to the transfer of the lens to the inspection carrier . removal of the air bubbles is desirable to avoid false negative reports from the automatic lens inspection system which is used to inspect the lenses . while pressurized air is used in the preferred embodiment of the invention , deionized water is also suitable . as was described earlier with respect to fig1 and 13 , deionized water is degassed in a degas unit 122 and distributed by a plurality of precision dosing pumps 140 to a deionized water dosing station 16 , which is more fully illustrated in fig1 and 15 . as illustrated in fig1 , a rubber belt conveyor 12 ( a ) having a pair of belts carries the inspection carrier 10 from the package carrier loading area 11 ( illustrated in fig3 ) to the deionized water dosing station 16 . a pneumatic stop 170 having a paul 171 is used to hold a series of inspection carriers 10 upstream of the dosing station 16 . when a new inspection carrier 10 is to be loaded , the pneumatic stop mechanism 170 retracts paul 171 , allowing the inspection carrier 10 to be carried into the dosing station on conveyor 12 ( a ). a separate set of jaws mounted on a pneumatic locking mechanism 172 ( illustrated in fig1 ) engage the inspection pallet 10 and hold it securely in position for package dosing . a plurality of dosing nozzles 174 are mounted on a horizontal reciprocating beam support member 176 and are connected to the f . m . i . pumps 140 by virtue of a plurality of tubing members 178 with a separate pump for each nozzle . each of the nozzle members 174 terminates in a sixteen gauge teflon needle having an id of 0 . 045 inches - 0 . 048 inches which is suspended directly above the package carriers 20 , and more particularly , above the bowl member 36 . in operation , a pneumatic cylinder 180 which is fixably secured to support frames 181 and 182 reciprocates carriage member 184 , vertical supports 185 , 186 and the horizontal mounting beam 176 to enable the teflon needle tips to be lowered into the recessed bowl 36 of the package carriers 20 . the tips are reciprocated downwardly , and approximately 600 microliters of degassed and deionized water is injected therethrough to partially fill the bowl 36 . after the bowls are filled with the desired dosage , pneumatic cylinder 180 is actuated and the reciprocal support beam 176 is raised to lift the teflon needles free of the package carriers 20 . the use of a reciprocating dosing needle eliminates agitation or splashing in the dosing of the degassed and deionized water . undue agitation or splashing may also lead to the enlargement of air and the formation of air bubbles which may generate a false negative inspection signal . the inspection carrier 10 is then advanced out of the dosing station 16 to the end of conveyor 12 ( a ) where it engages a push conveyor 17 , driven by a servo motor , which pushes the inspection carrier 10 across a stainless steel platform 190 to the lens loading area 18 . the lens loading area 18 is specifically designed to accommodate two inspection pallets 10 and provide a ganged array of thirty - two package carriers for receipt of thirty - two individual contact lenses . when these two inspection pallets 10 are in the lens transfer position 18 , tapered pins ( not shown ) engage registration cavities on the pallets ( 2 per pallet ) and provide precise positioning during lens transfer . while 2 × 8 and 4 × 8 arrays have been utilized in the post - hydration processing section of the present invention , it is understood that a variety of array configurations could be utilized in the practice of the present invention . the 4 × 8 array of the hydration carrier 860 is different than the 4 × 8 array of package carriers in the lens loading area 18 . the second 4 × 8 array 102 mounted on robotic transfer means 100 is adjustable to accommodate the first 4 × 8 array in the second hydration carrier 860 which has 30 mm centers between lenses , and the &# 34 ; bubble blow off &# 34 ; station 70 , and then expands to 30 × 50 mm centers , which is the dimension of the third 4 × 8 array at the lens loading area 18 as will be hereinafter described with respect to fig8 and 9 . as illustrated in fig8 and 9 , the 4 × 8 array 102 is illustrated in an expanded configuration in fig8 and a collapsed configuration in fig9 . the array 102 includes thirty - two convex lens carrier elements 104 as previously described with respect to fig6 and 7 . along the center line of the array are four fluid coupling members 864 which engage conduits 863 on the second hydration carriers 860 . the array is made of four separate lines or elements 190 - 193 , each of which carries eight convex carriers 104 . each of the linear members 190 - 193 is mounted for reciprocation along internal guide rods 194 and 195 as more fully illustrated in fig8 . a pneumatic chuck 196 , 197 is positioned on either side of the array , and upon actuation draws the outer most elements 190 , 193 outwardly as illustrated in fig8 along the guide rods 194 , 195 . each of the outer most arrays 190 , 193 also carries a pair of internal sliding stops , one of which is illustrated in fig8 at 198 which draw the inner most linear elements 191 and 192 outwardly , with linear element 190 drawing linear 191 , and linear element 193 drawing linear element 192 . compression springs 199 also assist in separating the linear elements of the array . it should also be noted that the array 102 is rotatable about turntable 103 to provide for the proper orientation of the array when transferring lenses from the hydration station to the lens loading area . the robotic transfer device 100 also includes first and second articulated arms 107 , 109 and a vertical arm 105 having a reciprocal servo motor 106 ( see fig2 ) mounted therein which enables complete three dimensional movement of the 4 × 8 array between each of the various transfer points which the robotic transfer device serves . as illustrated in fig2 the weight of the 102 is substantially offset by a preload spring 108 which carries much of the weight of arm 105 and array 102 , thereby reducing the load on vertical servo motor 106 . each of the convex lens carrier elements 104 also includes an interior conduit 110 terminating in at least one port 111 which may be used to introduce a fluid between the convex lens carrier element and the contact lens 8 . when the array 102 is positioned over the plurality of lens carrier elements at the lens loading area 18 , the array elements 191 - 193 are spread to align each of the convex lens carrier elements 104 with an associated package carrier immediately therebelow , and a small amount , nominally 300 μl , of degassed and deionized water is pumped by precision dosing pumps 140 through conduit 110 to transfer the contact lens 8 from the convex carrier 104 to the bowl 36 of the package carrier 20 . again , the use of degassed deionized water enables transfer of the lens without risking the development of small air bubbles from dissolved gasses in the deionized water that might otherwise &# 34 ; seed &# 34 ; on the contact lens 8 . after the lenses 8 have been transferred to the package carrier 20 , the 4 × 8 array 102 is collapsed by actuating air chucks 196 , 197 , to return the array to a configuration that matches the configuration of the hydration carrier 860 . when both pair of inspection carriers 10 have been loaded at the lens loading area 18 , a second servo motor actuated push arm 18 ( a ) transfers both pallets from the lens loading area to a staging area 19 ( a ) as illustrated in fig1 . at staging area 19 ( a ), an overhead double axis transport carrier 21 singulates one of the inspection carriers and picks up a single pallet 10 for transfer to the automatic lens inspection station 15 as illustrated in fig1 and 3 . the overhead transport 21 is a double axis hauser transport mechanism , and is used to isolate the automatic lens inspection system 15 from the remainder of the post - hydration line . by utilizing a double axis transport mechanism , the pallet 10 can be gently conveyed to the automatic lens inspection system , and thereby avoid any vibration that might otherwise impair the inspection results . after the first pallet 10 has been lifted from the staging area 19 ( a ), a push arm 19 moves the remaining pallet 10 ( b ) into the staging area 19 ( a ) for transfer by the double axis transport mechanism 21 to the automatic lens inspection system 15 , as illustrated in fig2 and 3 . in the automatic lens inspection system illustrated in fig3 as the inspection carriers are conveyed through the system by conveyors 15 ( b ) a light beam or pulse is directed from sources 15 ( c ) and through a lens to be directed and focused on a screen ( not shown ) to produce an image of the lens therebelow . preferably , the screen includes an array of pixels , each of which generates a respective one electric signal proportional to , or representing , the intensity of the light incident on the pixel . those electric signals are then processed to determine if the lens is acceptable for consumer use . any suitable procedure may be used to process or analyze the electric signals from the pixel array ; and , for instance , suitable procedures are disclosed in copending patent application ser . nos . 993 , 756 and 995 , 281 , both now abandoned entitled &# 34 ; automatic lens inspection system &# 34 ;, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference . as illustrated in fig3 separate systems are utilized to inspect the sixteen lenses carried in inspection carrier 10 . after completing the test for the last bank of lenses , the automatic lens inspection system sends a datablock with the vision inspection results to the programmable logic controller used to consolidate the lenses for packaging . after the lenses have been inspected by the automatic lens inspection system 15 , the inspection pallet is lifted by the second double axis overhead transport 22 and placed on conveyor 12 ( b ) for transport to the deionized water removal station 24 . the deionized water is removed by a specially configured nozzle , as described in u . s . ser . no . 07 / 999 , 234 , now abandoned entitled &# 34 ; solution removal nozzle &# 34 ;, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference thereto . as described earlier , the deionized water is used to center the lens within the package carrier during the inspection process , but is removed prior to packaging , to enable a precise dosing of a buffered saline solution in the final package , as will hereinafter be described in detail . after removal of the deionized water , the lenses , package carriers and inspection pallet are transported to the package removal pick point 25 which clamps the inspection pallet 10 to enable a second robotic transfer device 200 to remove the package carriers and lenses therefrom . as illustrated in fig2 and 16 , the second robotic transfer device 200 is positioned adjacent conveyors 12 , 13 and has mounted thereon a 2 × 8 array 202 of sixteen independently actuable vacuum gripping means . inspection pallet 10 ( b ) is conveyed along conveyor 12 to a predetermined product pick point 25 , as illustrated in fig3 and the 2 × 8 array 202 is positioned thereabove to remove each of the sixteen products from the inspection carrier 10 ( b ), immediately following the removal of the deionized water as previously described with respect to fig3 . in the practice of the present invention , a programmable logic controller is used to control the various elements of the present invention and receives a vision datablock from the automated inspection system having a flag set for each of the products in inspection carrier 10 ( b ) that is out of product specification . after the products 20 have been removed from the inspection carrier 10 ( b ), the robotic transfer device 200 positions the 2 × 8 array over conveyor belt 14 and selectively discharges the out of spec products . those products are then removed by conveyor 14 for subsequent destruction or recycling . the robotic device 200 then places the remaining products on a vacuum consolidation buffer 230 as indicated at 230 ( c ). the vacuum consolidation buffer of the present invention will be described with respect to fig1 - 19 in which 230 ( a ),( b ) diagrammatically represent a pair of elongated vacuum rails defined by housing members 231 ( a ),( b ) which enclose vacuum plenums 242 ( a ),( b ) and which define a plurality of vacuum slits 244 ( a ),( b ). the product array as deposited at 230 ( c ) includes gaps or random variations in the product flow resulting from the removal of the defective products from the serial product flow . the vacuum consolidation buffer 230 includes a pair of pneumatic product followers 232 , 234 which are used to consolidate the product group 230 ( c ) with the other already consolidated products on consolidation rail 230 . each of the pneumatic followers 232 , 234 is independently advanced in the direction of arrow c until each product stream is consolidated , thereby eliminating gaps or voids in the product stream which result from the inspection and rejection of defective products . for example , as product 20 ( f ) encounters product 20 ( g ), the entire stream of product driven by product follower 232 will advance and trigger an optical sensor 236 , which generates a control signal for the programmable logic controller to de - energize product follower 232 and return the follower to the initial start position . likewise , optical sensor 238 generates a similar return signal for product follower 234 when the second product stream has been consolidated . after consolidation of the product , a separate indexing mechanism 240 returns both product streams in the direction of arrow d to a predetermined registration point for subsequent robotic handling . in the present invention , the consolidation buffer 230 includes a pair of vacuum rails 230 ( a ), 230 ( b ) which lightly grip the product to permit sliding movement of the product along the rails in response to product followers 232 , 234 , but which will prevent &# 34 ; shingling &# 34 ; or overlapping of adjacent edges of product packages which might otherwise occur during consolidation . as illustrated in fig1 and 19 , the product followers 232 , 234 are mounted on pneumatically driven carriages , one of which is visible in elevation view of fig1 and two of which are visible in plan view in fig1 . the carriage includes a rodless cylinder 250 mounted for reciprocation on pneumatic cylinder 252 and guided by guide rod 251 . the product followers 232 , 234 are each mounted to the respective carriages by virtue of a pair of parallel rods 254 ( a ),( b ), 254 ( c ),( d ) which are mounted for reciprocation within housings 250 ( a ),( b ). the product string is advanced in the direction of arrow c until they trigger one or both of the optical sensors 236 , 238 . when the optical sensors are triggered , the programmable logic controller reverses the pneumatic bias on rodless cylinder 252 and the carriage 250 is then retracted to its original position as illustrated in fig1 . in addition , a proximity sensor ( not shown ) at the end of the stroke will also generate a signal to reverse the direction of carriage 250 if no product has been deposited on either of the consolidation buffer rail 230 ( a ),( b ). after the respective product streams have been advanced from position 230 ( c ) to actuate the optical sensor 238 , a product indexing mechanism 240 is actuated to return the product string to a predetermined location for registration with the third robotic transfer device 300 which transfers product onto the packaging indexing table 400 . the product indexing mechanism 240 includes a pneumatic cylinder 264 which actuates a push rod 266 and a pusher plate 262 into engagement with the product stream on the vacuum consolidation rails . the product pusher arm 262 then returns the leading edge of the first package carrier on each vacuum rail to a predetermined index position for registration with the 2 × 5 array 302 mounted on the packaging robotic transfer device 300 . a package feed robotic handling device 300 is positioned between the consolidation buffer 230 and a packaging station 400 , and is equipped with an array 302 which contains ten vacuum gripping means arranged in a 2 × 5 matrix . the 2 × 5 array 302 is first positioned over product group 20 ( d ) and the vacuum gripping means is actuated to withdraw the first ten products from the vacuum consolidation buffer 230 . the packaging robotic handling device 300 then positions the 2 × 5 array and product group 20 ( d ) over position 1 on the packaging indexing table 400 , and drops the array of products onto support pallet 410 mounted on the packaging indexing table 400 . during packaging , the package indexing turntable 400 rotates support pallets 410 from position to position to enable the products to undergo subsequent packaging steps . in the event there is a malfunction or delay in the operation of the package indexing turntable 400 , the incoming product arriving on consolidation buffer 230 may be temporarily stored in a buffer area 308 which has a plurality of buffer pallets 310 positioned therein . when the packaging index table 400 resumes operation , the package robotic handling device 300 will then transfer products in the 2 × 5 arrays from the buffer pallets 310 to the support pallets 410 on a first - in , first - out basis . if the product being handled is time sensitive , the programmable logic controller can generate a time stamp to be placed with each product array as it is transferred from any given processing station to any subsequent processing station . thus , a time stamp may be placed on the product when inspected , or when transferred to the buffer area 308 . if the product is transferred to buffer 308 , the x , y coordinates of the array are also stored with the time stamp . if the time sensitive allotment expires before packaging index table 400 has resumed operation , the packaging robotic handling device 300 will then discard expired time sensitive product , and will transfer only product meeting the time sensitive criteria to the support pallet 410 . likewise , if a problem in the production line results in an inordinate number of products being rejected , so that less than five products are available on either consolidation string 230 ( a ),( b ) at position 20 ( d ) then the robotic handling device 200 will transfer product as necessary to balance product streams on both sides of the packaging consolidation buffer 230 , and thereby enable removal of product as a 2 × 5 product array . buffer area 308 will accommodate approximately fifty pallets for intermediate storage , or approximately 10 minutes of product stream in the event the packaging operation is temporarily interrupted for resupply , maintenance or adjustments . after the 2 × 5 array of package carriers has been deposited on support pallet 410 , the pallet is rotated to position 412 where optical sensors verify that a package has been loaded at each position and that the packages are correctly aligned on the pallet . indexing turntable 400 is then rotated again to station 414 wherein each of the individual package carriers are dosed with approximately 950 microliter of a saline solution . station 414 is illustrated in elevation view in fig2 , wherein five dosing nozzles 415 are positioned above five package carriers 20 . dosing nozzles 415 are mounted . on a cantilever support arm 450 to thereby suspend the nozzle over the rotating table 400 . a plurality of saline tubes 417 carry a buffered saline solution , from a plurality of precision dosing pumps , similar to the f . m . i . pumps used to pump the deionized water to dosing station 16 depicted in fig1 and 3 . the use of deionized water in the hydration and inspection steps significantly speeds the production line as a whole since the time consuming ionic neutralization of the polymer from which the lenses are made does not occur until after the inspection process . when deionized water is used for hydration and inspection , the final step of the process is to introduce buffered saline solution into the final package with the lens and then seal the lens within the package so that final lens equilibration ( ionic neutralization , final hydration and final lens dimensioning ) is accomplished in the package at room temperature or during sterilization after the lens has been packaged and sealed . it has been determined empirically that it is desirable that soft contact lenses produced in accordance with the present invention be exposed to atmosphere for no more than sixty minutes between the removal of the deionized water at station 24 ( illustrated in fig3 ) and the dosing of the saline solution at station 414 in fig5 . the programmable logic controller which previously received the inspection results from the automated lens inspection system and correlated those results to the individual lenses , also time stamps the individual lenses at the pick up point 25 , immediately following the removal of the deionized water at station 24 . this time stamp is transferred through consolidation and into the 2 × 5 array when removed by the packaging robotic transfer device 300 . in the event the indexing turntable 400 is not operational , and the 2 × 5 array is stored in the buffer 308 , then the x , y coordinates of the 2 × 5 array are stored with the time stamp to enable the packaging robotic transfer device 300 to select &# 34 ; fresh &# 34 ; product , e . g . less than sixty minutes old , at the time the packaging dial 400 resumes operation . after operation is resumed , the robotic transfer device 300 will then dispose of the &# 34 ; expired &# 34 ; product , rather than transferring it to the packaging dial . after saline dosing at station 414 , the saline level is checked at station 415 and the support pallet is then rotated under a final product check station 416 to a foil receiving station 418 . as described earlier , each group of 5 package carriers 20 receives a single laminated foil cover sheet which is heat sealed to the package carriers . the lens package is more fully described in u . s . ser . no . 995 , 607 , now abandoned entitled &# 34 ; packaging arrangement for contact lenses &# 34 ;, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto . the laminated foil stock 432 is fed from a large indefinite spool through a tensioning device 434 to an ink jet printer 436 which prints the lot , batch and power number of the lenses to be packaged . the foil laminate is cut from an indefinite length product into two strips that are heat sealed to the 2 × 5 product array to provide two separate 1 × 5 product strips . the foil in between each of the package carriers is also partially severed , scored or perforated to enable the consumer to separate individual packages from the 1 × 5 array at the time the product is used . the partial scoring is done with a series of rolling blades 440 ( a )-( d ) which are pneumatically biased into a drum 439 . the foil is then split into two strips by a foil slitter blade 441 and the foil passes through a stationary gripper and sensing mechanism 442 . a video camera 438 and a series of sensors at station 442 are used to provide precise alignment of the information printed by the ink jet printer 436 , with the printing fields into which said printing is placed , and the alignment of the perforations or scores provided by rolling blades 439 . an advancing gripper 434 provided to draw a length of foil laminate corresponding to the 1 × 5 array and sever the strips with a rotating knife 444 . at the completion of this cut , the advancing gripper 434 has advanced in the direction of arrow e in fig4 to place the 1 × 5 foil strips under vacuum gripping heads 418 ( a ),( b ). these vacuum gripping heads then reciprocate downwardly to grip the foil , lift it from the advancing and cutting station 434 , and transfer the foil to the package indexing turntable 400 at the foil placement station 418 . the package indexing turntable 400 is then rotated again , and a heat seal mechanism 420 seals a single strip of foil to five separate package carriers in a single high temperature short cycle sealing operation . as illustrated in fig2 and 22 , the foil strips are heat sealed to the two 1 × 5 arrays of package carriers 20 . a heated seal head 510 , heated by a plurality of electric heaters 512 ( two of which are illustrated in the embodiment of fig2 ) mounted in a heating plate 514 . the heating plate 514 is secured to the back of the seal head 510 , and is supported by a pneumatic cylinder or press 516 which presses the heated seal head 510 against the laminar foil sheet on the package carriers 20 , which are supported by the pallet 410 such that the foil laminate and package carrier flanges are squeezed between the heated seal head and the pallet 410 as supported by the index turntable . the heated seal head is electrically heated , and the temperature thereof is measured by thermocouples 518 on each side of the seal head 510 to maintain the temperature at a high temperature , when compared to similar prior art arrangements . the temperature is maintained in a range from 210 °- 265 ° c ., preferably at 258 ° c . the heated seal head comprises a 2 × 5 array of cylindrical sealing elements 520 , each of which secures one of the foil laminar sheets to each group of package carriers 20 with an annular seal 39 around the cavity 36 in the package carrier 20 . the pneumatic cylinder is coupled to the heated seal head by a mount jack bolt 522 and cylindrical support struts 524 . the support struts 524 are biased upwardly by springs 526 , such that the heated seal head is raised and normally biased to the upper position illustrated in fig2 , unless the pneumatic cylinder 516 forces it down for a sealing operation . in operation , the back force generated by the pneumatic cylinder is measured by an in - line load cell 528 , and a solid state timer is initiated when a force is reached of approximately 2700 newtons , which is approximately 75 % of the peak force of approximately 3600 newtons . the solid state timer times a relatively short time period of approximately 0 . 4 to 0 . 48 seconds , after which the pressure in the pneumatic cylinder 516 is released . this approach , when compared with similar prior art approaches , is very hot , very hard and very short , which creates a seal which is both detachable and customer friendly . the package indexing turntable 400 is preferably reinforced under the seventh angular position to withstand the heat sealing forces imparted thereto by the pneumatic cylinder 516 . the indexing turntable 400 must be maintained in a substantially level position for the operations described herein . the pneumatic cylinder 516 at the seventh position applies a substantial force to the indexing turntable , and accordingly to maintain the turntable level , an approximately 21 / 2 × 31 / 2 inch support block 530 of a durable plastic material , similar to teflon ®, is placed on top a central support 532 and surrounding supports 534 positioned beneath the pneumatic press . the support block 530 is in constant contact with the indexing turntable 400 to ensure that the deflection of the indexing turntable 400 under the pneumatic cylinder 516 is minimal . alternatively , a pneumatically actuable movable support could be positioned in contact with the bottom of the indexing turntable prior to operation of the pneumatic cylinder driving the heated seal head , and be repositioned out of contact with the bottom of the table after operation of the pneumatic cylinder . the package indexing turntable 400 is then rotated to position 422 where a reciprocating transfer head 446 removes the sealed product from the indexing turntable 400 and transports it in the direction of arrow f for sterilization and cartoning . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing , and other changes in form and details , may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which is limited only by the scope of the following claims .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

referring now to the drawings , an automotive service equipment for brake fluid exchange according to the invention comprises four remote bleed modules 1 , refer to fig1 a to 4 , and a central unit 2 with controlling electronics 17 for operating the equipment in at least one automatic mode of operation for bleeding the brakes of an automotive vehicle . each module 1 is controlled remotely by the central unit through radio frequency or similar wireless technology in the controlling electronics 17 , see the wireless communication represented by w 1 in fig5 . each of the remote bleed modules 1 has a sealed container 3 , fig4 , to hold a vacuum charge and waste fluid . a hose 4 and appropriate adapter 5 to connect the module to the brake bleeder , 61 in fig3 , on an automotive vehicle being serviced provide a fluid passage connecting the module to the brake bleeder and convey brake fluid from the brake bleeder during brake fluid exchange . a solenoid operated valve 6 or other normally closed valve is provided between the brake bleeder adapter / hose and the container 3 for opening and closing the fluid passage between the brake bleeder of the vehicle and the container . a printed circuit board 7 of the module has an antenna to receive wirelessly transmitted signals w 1 , fig5 , from the central unit , and has signal processing circuitry to control the operation of the valve 6 and provide necessary information , i . e . visual indication as required via light emitting diodes 8 to the technician during service as explained below . the remote bleed modules 1 further include a drain feature , a check valve 9 in the example embodiment , see fig4 , that is activated through mechanical means or vacuum when the module is docked with the central unit as described hereinafter . the remote bleed modules further include a battery , super capacitor or other means of power 10 , fig1 b and 5 , and / or a charging system to provide the necessary power for operation of the printed circuit board , valve and light emitting diodes of the undocked modules . electrical contacts 11 b , fig4 , of the modules are automatically engaged with electrical contacts 11 a when the module is docked with the central unit for recharging the power source 10 . as shown in fig2 c , the back of the modules are provided with a magnetic attachment 12 for fixing to steel lifts , etc ., and a retractable hook 13 for hanging the modules from the suspension of a vehicle being serviced , or other means . these devices enable the modules to be located near respective ones of the individual brake bleeders 61 of the vehicle as depicted in fig3 . the cabinet for the modules has a handle and / or overall shape 14 conducive to single - hand maneuvering by the technician , an integrated hose storage 15 for the hose 4 , and docking alignment elements 16 which facilitate docking of the modules with the central unit . the remote bleed modules are adapted to have their sealed containers 3 initially vacuum charged while the modules are docked with the central unit at docking stations 20 thereof , fig1 a and 4 . the electrical contacts 11 b ( only one is visible in fig4 ) meet and make electrical connection with the two mating electrical contacts 11 a as the module is inserted vertically into the port at the docking station . electrical power from the central unit is thereby available to charge the internal power source 10 of the module . the module has a male fitting 21 b which mates with the female fitting 21 a in the docking station as the module is inserted vertically into the docking station . a tight seal between the fittings is accomplished by an o - ring 21 c . the check valve 9 seals fitting 21 b when the module is not docked . when the module is docked , the check valve opens fitting 21 b . the module 1 is in the form of the sealed container 3 as shown most clearly in fig4 . connected to the container is the hose 4 with appropriate adapter 5 to connect the module to a brake bleeder . the solenoid valve 6 is connected in - line with hose 4 . when the module is docked , the check valve 9 opens whereby a vacuum pump 19 , fig1 a , 3 , 4 and 5 , in the central unit will draw a vacuum on container 3 . used brake fluid which may be in the container 3 will initially be extracted by this vacuum and deposited in a waste tank or container 23 in the central unit . as the pump continues to run , a vacuum will be drawn on container 3 thereby charging the container of the module for drawing brake fluid from a brake bleeder . check valve 9 closes as the module is undocked thereby maintaining the vacuum drawn by pump 19 on the container 3 . connection of the adapter 5 to a brake bleeder 61 of a vehicle and activation of the solenoid valve 6 will apply the vacuum in the container 3 to the brake bleeder to extract brake fluid . the signal to activate the solenoid valve 6 is received from the printed circuit board 7 of the module which is controlled wirelessly from the central unit . simultaneously with applying the vacuum in container 3 to the brake bleeder , positive pressure and fluid replacement is applied to the brake system master cylinder / reservoir 26 , fig3 . in use , once the appropriate amount of fluid has been flushed through the brake system of the vehicle , the central unit transmits a signal for the valve of the module to close , and then signals the next module to open its valve . the process continues until all four module - brake bleeder combinations have been completed . the central unit then alerts the operator to close the bleeders and disconnect the modules and wirelessly signals the appropriate module to flash the light emitting diodes 8 thereon . according to the preferred sequence for closing , the valve 6 on the module with flashing diodes again opens , and a slight positive pressure is applied to the master cylinder by the central unit to prevent any trapped air as the technician closes the bleeder connected to the module . once the bleeder is closed by the technician , and the central unit detects no flow by flow meter 28 , fig3 , the central unit allows the current module to drain the fluid from the hose for a few seconds , then closes the valve of the module . it then sends a signal to the next module and the process is repeated until all bleeders are closed . the hoses and adapters are then detached by the technician at each of the bleeders , and the modules are returned to the central unit for docking . once docked , draining of the waste fluid and recharging of the module power sources and vacuum charging of the module containers is performed . the controlling electronics 17 of the central unit 2 shown in fig5 preferably include a digital electronic controller for the operation of the equipment when servicing a vehicle according to the automatic mode of operation illustrated in fig7 a and 7b and described hereinafter . electrical outputs from the controller control the equipment based on logic software of a programmed processor such as a microprocessor of the controller . well known power / ground connections to ics and other components may not be shown within the figs . for simplicity of illustration and discussion , and so as not to obscure the invention . arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention , and signals ( e . g ., wireless signals ) may be shown in simplicit line form , and also in view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation of such block diagram and signal arrangements are highly dependent upon the platform within which the present invention is to be implemented , i . e ., such specifics should be well within the purview of one skilled in the art . in other instances , detailed descriptions of well - known methods and components are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the invention with unnecessary / excessive detail . where specific details ( e . g ., circuits , flow charts ) are set forth in order to describe the example embodiment of the invention , it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without , or with variation of , these specific details . finally it should be apparent that differing combinations of hard - wired circuitry and software instructions can be used to implement embodiments of the present invention , i . e ., the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software . the controlling electronics 17 of the central unit further include an electronic circuit with wireless communication ability . this would include a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver coupled to a suitable antenna or other transmission medium coupler as will be readily understood by the skilled artisan . similar components are provided in the modules . the transmitters and receivers may be either radio frequency ( rf ) or infrared ( ir ) devices , but they are of the same type . signals wirelessly communicated by the central unit to the modules include ( but are not limited to ) signals to open and close the valves 6 for bleeding fluid from the brake bleeders connected to the modules and signals for turning the light emitting diodes on and off to indicate the sequence for closing the bleeders at the end of a brake fluid exchange . the central unit 2 as shown in fig1 a , 3 and 5 has a pump 18 and controlling sensors including pressure switch 30 for filling and applying pressure to the master cylinder / reservoir 26 in the vehicle being serviced . the vacuum pump 19 of the central unit is for emptying the master cylinder in addition to initially charging the sealed containers of the modules and removing waste fluid from the containers of the modules when docked at docking stations 20 as noted above . new fluid is supplied from a tank / container 22 of the central unit while the waste fluid tank / container 23 receives the waste fluid removed from the modules and the master cylinder . hose 24 and various adapters are used for draining / filling master cylinders 26 . the central unit is housed within an integrated cabinet / enclosure 25 on wheels for portability . the basic functionality of the central unit 2 encompasses providing a vacuum charge to the individual docked modules 1 upon service initialization . an interface to the technician of the central unit is shown in detail in fig6 . the interface permits the technician to specify fluid exchange amount and the bleeder sequence in a brake fluid exchange for a vehicle , and provides process status and / or action required indications to the technician as discussed in more detail below in connection with fig7 a and 7b . the central unit serves to connect to the master cylinder / reservoir 26 of the vehicle being serviced to remove used fluid , refill with new fluid , apply pressure and replenish new fluid as necessary . once service commences , the central unit monitors and controls the overall process and communicates with each module 1 . once fluid replacement is complete , the central unit alerts the technician via audible and / or visual alert and / or the aforementioned techalert remote module 46 , fig5 , that the process is complete and that the bleeders need to be closed . once the technician activates the “ close bleeder ” sequence , the central unit applies pressure to the master cylinder and sequentially sends signals to each module to activate “ attention required ” light emitting diodes 8 and open the module &# 39 ; s valve 6 . as described above , once a technician closes the bleeder at the module and the central unit senses no flow , it activates the next module for the bleeder to be closed . when the modules are returned to their docking position on the central unit at service completion , the central unit provides draining capabilities for the waste fluid in containers 3 and recharging of the module power source 10 , e . g ., batteries . the central unit includes the charging capability / circuitry for recharging the power sources of the modules . the method for exchanging brake fluid in an automotive vehicle using the automotive service equipment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 , which shows the component configuration of the central unit and the four remote bleed modules 1 connected to the brake bleeders 61 of a vehicle brake system 60 . as noted above , the sealed container 3 of each module would have been drawn into a vacuum while docked on the central unit docking stations 20 . the printed circuit board / controller 7 in each module is in wireless communication with the central unit controller . signals are transmitted from the central unit controller to open and close solenoid valve 6 . when solenoid valve 6 is open , the vacuum in the module container will cause brake fluid to be drawn from the brake caliber cylinder via a brake bleeder at the four brakes / wheels of the vehicle . a filter 34 in the hose traps any particulates which may be in the used brake fluid . extracted brake fluid is stored in the container 3 of the module until the module is docked on the central unit . hose 36 of the central unit as shown in fig3 is used to extract as much used fluid from the master cylinder / reservoir 26 of the vehicle brake system 60 as possible . then wand 37 is connected to hose 24 and used to refill the reservoir with new fluid . hose 24 is then connected to the brake fluid reservoir using a special adapter . new brake fluid from container 22 is pumped by the pump 18 through the hose 24 to the brake fluid reservoir 26 of the brake system . a filter 27 traps any particulate which may be in the new fluid . the flow meter 28 measures fluid flow and gives electrical signals to the central unit controller . the amount of fluid flow used is in the system logic as selected by the technician during initialization as explained below with reference to fig7 a and 7b . a fixed orifice 29 dampens any fluid pulses caused by pump 18 . the pressure switch 30 controls the maximum fluid pressure at the brake system reservoir 26 . pressure gauge 31 , fig3 and 6 , is for visual indication of the fluid pressure and the system . the waste fluid container 23 has a level switch 32 to prevent overfilling the container with used fluid . the new fluid container 22 has a level switch 33 to stop pump 18 when the level of new fluid is low , preventing the pumping of air into the braking system . a solenoid valve 35 is energized to allow the pump 18 to pump any unused brake fluid from container 22 to container 23 . this is an optional choice for the technician if the new fluid will not be used in the near future . brake fluid absorbs moisture exposed to air for an extended period of time . for commencing the automatic mode of operation of the automotive service equipment , the technician programs the central unit by selecting the sequence ( specified by the vehicle manufacturer ) in which fluid will be extracted from each of the brakes of the vehicle . he also selects whether to empty any unused new fluid into the waste fluid container at the end of the fluid exchange procedure . the central unit controller then pumps new fluid into the master cylinder / reservoir of the vehicle brake system and sequentially extracts used fluid from each of the four brakes in the sequential order programmed . the amount of new fluid pumped to each brake is determined by the central unit controller based on the amount of fluid sensed by flow meter 28 . the total amount of new fluid used during the entire exchange of all four brakes is programmed by the technician . three total amounts ( 32 , 48 and 64 ounces ) can be selected in the example embodiment . the central unit controller calculates and then controls the amount of fluid which is exchanged at each of the brakes . as shown in fig5 , the automotive service equipment of the invention can optionally be used with the techalert remote module 46 to alert the operator by way of the portable communication module 46 of the status of the equipment operation , e . g . operation complete or operator attention required , for example . for this purpose , the controller of the central unit has a socket 41 and mating jumper plug 40 . insertion of the plug into the socket initiates communication at receptacle 42 . a stationary module 45 of the techalert with electrical cable 44 and plug 43 is plugged into the receptacle 42 . the stationary module 45 includes a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver coupled to a suitable antenna or other transmission medium coupler for communicating signals wirelessly to the remote module 46 as described in more detail in the aforementioned commonly owned applications incorporated herein by reference . the wireless communication between the remote module 46 and the central unit is shown at w 2 in fig5 . the sequence of steps performed by the equipment for fluid exchange , with operator inputs in response to prompts by the equipment display 50 , are set forth in fig7 a and 7b . the push buttons 53 , 57 , 58 and 59 permit the operator to set the sequence of brake fluid exchange in a vehicle , where lf stands for left front , rf for right front , lr for left rear and rr for right rear brakes to be bled . the several push buttons 51 , 52 , 54 , 55 and 56 are for operator input to respectively empty the master cylinder , fill the master cylinder , continue , flush and pause the operation of the equipment . the flow chart of fig7 a and 7b describes in more detail the operation of the equipment and operator input / control where necessary for brake fluid exchange in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . where we have shown and described one preferred embodiment of the present invention , it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto but is subject in numerous modifications and variations which will be apparent to the skilled artisan . as one variation , the automotive service equipment could employ fewer brake bleed modules than the four of the embodiment , where necessarily a module would have to be used with more than one brake bleeder of a vehicle being serviced by connecting and disconnecting the module in sequence with the brake bleeders of a vehicle . a further variation could employ a brake bleed module with two independently controlled solenoids , each connected to a hose . this dual brake bleed module could then be located mid - way between the rear or front brakes with one hose connected to the right side brake and the other hose connected to the left side brake . thus , the above descriptions of example embodiments are not intended to be limiting . all such modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included therein .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

with reference now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 through 5 thereof , a new auxiliary tailgate embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described . the present invention , as designated as numeral 10 , is adapted for use with a truck 12 having a rear extent 14 with a flat corrugated bottom 16 and a pair of side walls 18 defining an open top and an open rear . the rear extent of the truck further has a gate 20 with a rectangular configuration . a bottom edge of the gate is hingably coupled along a rear edge of the bottom for pivoting between a vertical closed orientation and a horizontal open orientation . as shown in fig1 & amp ; 2 a pair of mounts 22 are provided each including a circular planar base 23 screwably coupled to a midpoint of an interior surface of the side walls of the truck adjacent the open rear thereof . a tube 24 is concentrically coupled to the base and extends inwardly therefrom . for reasons that will become apparent hereinafter , a set of diametrically opposed bores 25 are formed in the tube . such bores are contained in a vertical plane . next provided is a gate assembly 26 including a plurality of spaced rails 28 each essentially residing in a separate common plane . each rail includes an end linear extent 30 situated in parallel with the rear edge of the bottom of the truck . coupled to ends of the end linear extent is a pair of side linear extents 32 which extend in perpendicular relationship therewith and which terminate at ends . ideally , the side extents each have a length of more than 1 / 2 that of the end extents . the rails include a top rail 34 and a bottom rail 36 with ends which connect to form an arcuate portion 38 that is coupled to the end of an intermediate rail 39 . such arcuate portion generally defines a portion of a periphery of circle . as an option , the end linear extent of each rail may be equipped with a reflector 41 , or in the alternative , may have a brake light or turn light formed therein . as a further option , a closed and rigid covering 43 with a size and shape similar to that of the gate assembly may be removably clipped to the gate assembly for allowing small or fine articles such as dirt to be hauled . similar to the gate assembly , the covering may also be made to expand and contract laterally . a pair of linear interconnects 40 are coupled between the end linear extents of the rails adjacent to the side linear extents thereof and extend beyond the top rail and bottom rail a predetermined distance . ideally , ends of the interconnects are each equipped with an elasomeric cap . optionally , a central portion of a top one of the end linear extents of the spaced rails , as defined by the linear interconnects , may be screwably coupled in linear alignment with the remaining portion of the corresponding spaced rail . note fig1 . by this structure , the central portions may be selectively removed for accommodating fifth wheel - type trailers . preferably , the length of the end linear extents are adjustable by way of a telescoping coupling positioned at a central extent thereof . an unillustrated threaded bore and bolt may be employed to fix the length of the end extents during use . as such , a single gate assembly may be employed in trucks with bottoms having any one of the various widths . with attention now to fig2 shown are a pair of tubular interconnects 42 including two separate c - shaped sleeves 44 each with a pair of diametrically opposed apertured flanges 46 extending therefrom . the sleeves are adapted for encompassing the side linear extents of the intermediate rail and further being fixed at a selectively determined point along a length thereof by way of a pair of bolts 48 . in the alternative , a pin and multiple aperture combination may be employed to selectively fix the side linear extents . to facilitate the sliding of the side linear extents , the c - shaped sleeves are each lined with a teflon bushing . in the preferred embodiment , the mounting means of the gate assembly is equipped with a safety lock for preventing the theft thereof . one of the sleeves of each tubular interconnect has a cylinder 50 coupled thereto . such cylinder serves to be slidably and rotatably situated within the tube of the mounting base . the cylinder has a set of diametrically opposed apertures 52 for allowing the selective placement of a quick release pin 54 through one set of the bores of the mounts and the set of the apertures of the cylinder . as such , the respective orientation between the rail assembly and mounts may be fixed about the an axis . in lieu of the quick release pin , a thumb screw may be used to accomplish the same objective in an alternate embodiment . during use , the rail assembly may be slid along the length of the bottom and gate of the truck when the gate is in the open orientation . further , the rail assembly may be rotated about an axis defined by the mounts such that the end linear extents of the rail assembly may reside in a first orientation within a vertical plane and resting on a rear portion of the rear extent of the bottom of the truck or the gate . note fig1 . in the alternative , the end linear extents of the rail assembly may reside in a second orientation within a vertical plane and resting on a central portion of the bottom of the rear extent of the truck , as shown in fig3 . finally , the end linear extents of the rail assembly is capable of be situated in a third orientation within a horizontal plane above the bottom of the rear extent of the truck . see fig4 . as to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided . 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 .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

the invention to be described hereafter is applicable to all data transfer systems using a remote device data synchronization system in the present invention to maintain current data on remote devices . while described below with respect to a single computer , the system and method for a remote device data synchronization system is typically implemented in a networked computing arrangement in which a number of computing devices communicate over a local area network ( lan ), over a wide area network ( wan ), or over a combination of both lan and wan . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention accomplishes two primary goals : ( 1 ) keeps vital personal information synchronized between a user &# 39 ; s personal computing devices ; and ( 2 ) delivers information to mobile users that is particularly relevant and personalized while mobile ( generally , this is information associated with a particular time and / or place ). mobile professionals will carry multiple mobile computing devices , all of which have specific usage and connection characteristics , making each device uniquely appropriate for certain mobile usage situations . given this diversity of devices , an obvious user problem is the synchronization of information of these remote devices . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention provides universal synchronization of a user &# 39 ; s contacts , calendar , to do items and memos across remote devices . these types of information are synchronized to the best capability of the particular device . for example , the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention will support : the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention also delivers relevant mobile information to user &# 39 ; s devices . three broad guidelines serve to illustrate the type of information delivered : calendar - based information , working in conjunction with a user &# 39 ; s contact database , drives the intelligent delivery of mobile information . through wizard - type interfaces for creating appointment and trip entries , a user can specify certain relevant types of time / place information . based on this information , the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention can assemble and monitor important relevant data from a variety of content providers and deliver it to the user &# 39 ; s remote devices . for example , if a user is making a trip to seattle , beginning a few weeks in advance of the trip , the user &# 39 ; s remote device can be delivered information about the weather , flight information , directions , hotel information , car rental information , taxi , etc . after the trip , this seattle - specific information can be removed from the devices . likewise , based on appointments in the calendar , users can receive directions , company information , etc . useful in successfully conducting that appointment . all content is intelligently delivered to a user &# 39 ; s different devices based on the device capacities and different user configuration settings . information like stock ticker information and competitive company information can be configured to be synchronized to a user &# 39 ; s mobile devices . alert conditions can be set to monitor relevant items like flight status , stock price , appointment information , daily trip information , etc . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention can but is not limited to a tiered architecture ( i . e . separate tiers for client , business logic services , and data storage ), which provides scalability as well as multiple ways of synchronizing and interacting with the data in the central database . the application can reside on a single server , or on a cluster of servers for scalability and reliability . each device either browses the central data store directly , or synchronizes its local data store with the central data store via the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention . content is piped in from 3 rd party vendors , stored in the central database and formatted by the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention . content for a particular user is available directly , such as on a web site , and is also synchronized to the user &# 39 ; s devices during the same session as for personal information data , for offline viewing . to provide the synchronization , software is installed on each synchronized remote device . this software serves to translate and map the superset personal information manager ( pim ) format of the server database to the specific format of the specific pim being synchronized . in addition , the client handles synchronization of content from the server and purging of outdated offline content from the device once it is no longer needed . the client / server communication during the synchronization session can be performed via http to eliminate firewall issues . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention may also support https ( ssl ), for users that synchronize via their isp or other non - secure connection to the internet . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention includes a repository , such as a central database 12 . this repository is can be scalable , such as but not limited to microsoft sql server 7 . 0 . all access to the repository can be performed via a set of data access apis , which serve to decouple the remote device data synchronization system components and services from the database . this architecture enhances scalability and robustness by controlling and pooling database access , and gives the flexibility to port the repository to other rdbms platforms without making modifications to core components or services . the remote device data synchronization system manages user synchronization sessions , reconciling data changes between the device being synchronized and the repository . each remote client device uses client software written for that device for synchronizing . the function of the client is to interface with the unique data format of the client device including , but not limited to palm , os , ms - outlook , etc ., and to communicate data changes with the remote device data synchronization system . this communication can be performed via http or https ( user selectable ), so it is secure and does not impact firewall configuration . because interfacing with device data formats is done without server intervention , addition of personal information managers pim applications or devices is performed through the creation of a new client — with no changes to the server required . the wap and web services also connect to the central repository via the data access apis , allowing users to work directly against the data stored in the central repository . changes made to the data in the repository while a user is browsing will be queued and sent to all synchronized devices . the wireless application protocol ( wap ) services work for users with wap browsers in their wireless handsets . the remote device data synchronization system does not provide the wap gateway ; this is provided by the user &# 39 ; s wireless carrier . an alerting engine ( notification services ) monitors user calendar data , and when an alert condition is met , an alert is queued and sent to the user . currently , the remote device data synchronization system provides alerts for appointments and flights , as well as summaries of each day &# 39 ; s appointments and itinerary items . alerts can be sent as email messages via an smtp server , and are formatted as short message service ( sms ) messages . this enables remote device data synchronization system to send alerts to email - addressable wireless phones and pagers , in addition to standard email clients . the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention also provides automatic updating of client software , if a new version is available at the time a user synchronizes . the server sends down the new software and installs it on client devices as part of the synchronization process ; there is no intervention required by the user or by the administrator . the remote device data synchronization system can employ an n - tier architecture , in which the data tier ( database ), business logic tier , and web server tier to be independently scalable via clustering and load balancing . this allows hardware to be added to only the tiers where it is needed for a given configuration . in addition , it allows for a fairly easy scalability path , as hardware can be added at any time , based on empirical measurements of which tiers appear to be bottlenecking . referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals illustrate like elements throughout the several views , fig1 illustrates the basic components of a system 10 using the remote device data synchronization system used in connection with the preferred embodiment of the present invention . the system 10 includes remote client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 . each client has applications and can have a local file 16 . computer servers 11 and 21 contain applications and server 11 further contains a server database 12 that is accessed by client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 via intermittent connections 14 ( a - d ), respectively , over network 13 . the server 11 runs administrative software for a computer network and controls access to part or all of the network and its devices . the client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 share the server data stored on the database 12 and may access the server 11 over a network 13 , such as but not limited to : the internet , a local area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), via a telephone line using a modem or other like networks . the server 11 may also be connected to the local area network ( lan ) within an organization . the structure and operation of the remote device data synchronization system 10 enables the server 11 and the database 12 associated therewith to handle clients more efficiently than previously known systems . particularly , the remote device data synchronization system of the present invention provides a manner of organizing data of the server file into updates that enable a remote client system to update its remote file more efficiently . periodically , a modification (“ delta ” or “ update ”) file is created for each client with all relevant changes since the last modification file creation . when the clients systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 connect to the server 11 , the modification files associated with the client are transmitted to the client to be used for updating each client &# 39 ; s individual files . the client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 may each be located at remote sites . client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 include but are not limited to , pcs , workstations , laptops , pdas , pagers , wap devices , non - wap devices , cell phones , palm devices and the like . thus , when a user at one of the remote client systems 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 desires to be updated with the current information from the shared file at the server 11 , the client system 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 communicates over the network 13 , such as but not limited to wan , internet , or telephone lines to access the server 11 . advantageously , the present invention provides a system and method for updating client systems to most efficiently transfer their remote files on the server 11 . periodically , the server determines the data that has changed for each client since the last evaluation , and records those changes in a modification file . when a client connects to the server , it requests the modification files for the client , creates the downloaded modification files , and updates its local file . third party vendors computer systems 21 and databases 22 can be accessed by the remote device data synchronization system server 11 in order to obtain updated information for dissemination to the remote devices . data that is obtained from third party vendors computer system 22 and database 23 can be stored on the remote device data synchronization system server 11 in order to provide later access to the user remote devices 15 , 17 , 18 and 21 . it is also contemplated that for certain types of data that the remote user devices 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 can access the third party vendors data directly using the network 13 . generally , in terms of hardware architecture , as shown in fig2 the computer and devices 11 , 21 and 23 include a processor 41 , storage 42 memory 42 , and one or more input and / or output ( i / o ) devices ( or peripherals ) that are communicatively coupled via a local interface 43 . the local interface 43 can be , for example but not limited to , one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections , as is known in the art . the local interface 43 may have additional elements , which are omitted for simplicity , such as controllers , buffers ( caches ), drivers , repeaters , and receivers , to enable communications . further , the local interface 43 may include address , control , and / or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components . the processor 41 is a hardware device for executing software that can be stored in memory 42 . the processor 41 can be virtually any custom made or commercially available processor , a central processing unit ( cpu ) or an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the computer 11 and 21 , and a semiconductor based microprocessor ( in the form of a microchip ) or a macroprocessor . examples of suitable commercially available microprocessors are as follows : an 80 × 86 or pentium series microprocessor from intel corporation , u . s . a ., a powerpc microprocessor from ibm , u . s . a ., a sparc microprocessor from sun microsystems , inc , a pa - risc series microprocessor from hewlett - packard company , u . s . a ., or a 68xxx series microprocessor from motorola corporation , u . s . a . the memory 42 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements ( e . g ., random access memory ( ram , such as dynamic random access memory ( dram ), static random access memory ( sram ), etc .)) and nonvolatile memory elements ( e . g ., rom , erasable programmable read only memory ( eprom ), electronically erasable programmable read only memory ( eeprom ), programmable read only memory ( prom ), tape , compact disc read only memory ( cd - rom ), disk , diskette , cartridge , cassette or the like , etc .). moreover , the memory 42 may incorporate electronic , magnetic , optical , and / or other types of storage media . note that the memory 42 can have a distributed architecture , where various components are situated remote from one another , but can be accessed by the processor 41 . the software in memory 42 may include one or more separate programs , each of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions . in the example of fig2 the software in the memory 42 includes a suitable operating system ( o / s ) 51 and the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention . a non - exhaustive list of examples of suitable commercially available operating systems 51 is as follows : a windows operating system from microsoft corporation , u . s . a ., a netware operating system available from novell , inc ., u . s . a ., an operating system available from ibm , inc ., u . s . a ., any linux operating system available from many vendors or a unix operating system , which is available for purchase from many vendors , such as hewlett - packard company , u . s . a ., sun microsystems , inc . and at & amp ; t corporation , u . s . a . the operating system 51 essentially controls the execution of other computer programs , such as the remote device data synchronization system 100 , and provides scheduling , input - output control , file and data management , memory management , and communication control and related services . however , it is contemplated by the inventors that the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention is applicable on all other commercially available operating systems . the remote device data synchronization system 100 may be a source program , executable program ( object code ), script , or any other entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed . when a source program , then the program is usually translated via a compiler , assembler , interpreter , or the like , which may or may not be included within the memory 42 , so as to operate properly in connection with the o / s 51 . furthermore , the remote device data synchronization system 100 can be written as ( a ) an object oriented programming language , which has classes of data and methods , or ( b ) a procedure programming language , which has routines , subroutines , and / or functions , for example but not limited to , c , c ++, pascal , basic , fortran , cobol , perl , java , and ada . the i / o devices may include input devices , for example but not limited to , a keyboard 45 , mouse 44 , scanner ( not shown ), microphone ( not shown ), etc . furthermore , the i / o devices may also include output devices , for example but not limited to , a printer ( not shown ), display 46 , etc . finally , the i / o devices may further include devices that communicate both inputs and outputs , for instance but not limited to , a nic or modulator / demodulator 47 ( for accessing other files , devices , systems , or a network ), a radio frequency ( rf ) or other transceiver ( not shown ), a telephonic interface ( not shown ), a bridge ( not shown ), a router ( not shown ), etc . if the computers 11 and 21 are a pc , workstation , intelligent device or the like , the software in the memory 42 may further include a basic input output system ( bios ) ( omitted for simplicity ). the bios is a set of essential software routines that initialize and test hardware at startup , start the o / s 52 , and support the transfer of data among the hardware devices . the bios is stored in rom so that the bios can be executed when the computer 11 , 15 , 16 , 18 21 and 23 is activated . when the computers 11 , 15 , 16 , 18 21 and 23 is in operation , the processor 41 is configured to execute software stored within the memory 42 , to communicate data to and from the memory 42 , and to generally control operations of the computer 11 , 15 , 16 , 18 21 and 23 pursuant to the software . the remote device data synchronization system 100 and the o / s 52 are read , in whole or in part , by the processor 41 , perhaps buffered within the processor 41 , and then executed . when the remote device data synchronization system 100 is implemented in software , as is shown in fig3 a and 3b , it should be noted that the remote device data synchronization system 100 can be stored on virtually any computer readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer related system or method . in the context of this document , a computer readable medium is an electronic , magnetic , optical , or other physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with a computer related system or method . the remote device data synchronization system 100 can be embodied in any computer - readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device , such as a computer - based system , processor - containing system , or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device and execute the instructions . in the context of this document , a “ computer - readable medium ” can be any means that can store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the computer readable medium can be , for example but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , device , or propagation medium . more specific examples ( a nonexhaustive list ) of the computer - readable medium would include the following : an electrical connection ( electronic ) having one or more wires , a portable computer diskette ( magnetic ), a random access memory ( ram ) ( electronic ), a read - only memory ( rom ) ( electronic ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom , eeprom , or flash memory ) ( electronic ), an optical fiber ( optical ), and a portable compact disc read - only memory ( cdrom ) ( optical ). note that the computer - readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed , as the program can be electronically captured , via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium , then compiled , interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary , and then stored in a computer memory . in an alternative embodiment , where the remote device data synchronization system 100 is implemented in hardware , the remote device data synchronization system 100 can be implemented with any one or a combination of the following technologies , which are each well known in the art : a discrete logic circuit ( s ) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals , an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) having appropriate combinational logic gates , a programmable gate array ( s ) ( pga ), a field programmable gate array ( fpga ), etc . illustrated in fig3 b is an example of a remote device utilizing the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention . remote devices 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 include , but are not limited to , pcs , workstations , laptops , pdas , pagers , wap devices , non - wap devices , cell phones , palm devices and the like . the components of the remote device 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 are substantially similar to that of the description for the server 11 ( fig2 ). however , it is contemplated that many of the components in the user &# 39 ; s remote device 15 , 17 , 18 and 23 can be more limited . illustrated in fig4 is an example of a flowchart of the process flow that a user performs in interaction with the remote device and synchronization system 100 of the present invention on server 11 . first at step 81 , user navigates to a page containing personalized information . this page of information can be accessed using any known network including , but not limited to , a web page . at step 82 , the user utilizes the web browser to request a page from the remote device synchronization server 100 of the present invention . at step 83 , the remote device due to synchronization server 100 computes and formats the requested personalized information . the flow diagram for computing and formatting the personalized information is herein defined in further detail with regard to fig6 and 7 . at step 84 , the formatted personalized information requested at step 82 is returned to the web browser utilized by the user at step 84 . at step 85 , the process determines if the user has more personalized information to be requested from the server . if this determines that step 85 that there is no more information to be requested at the user , then the process then exits at step 89 . however , if it is determined at step 85 that the user is not done , then the process returns to repeat steps 82 through 85 . illustrated in fig5 is an example of flowchart illustrating the operation of the remote data synchronization system process 100 . first , the remote device data synchronization 100 is initialized at step 101 . at step 102 , the remote device data synchronization system 100 accepts input from the user when the user strikes the synchronization button on the user &# 39 ; s remote device . at step 103 , the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention requests personalized information changes from the central server 11 . at step 104 , the remote device data synchronization server 11 computes and formats personalized information for the device type for present and upcoming appointment and itinerary information . the appointment and itinerary information is herein defined in further detail with regard to fig6 and 7 . at step 105 , the server then computes the differences between the new personalized information and the information that is currently residing on the remote user device . at step 106 , the differences are returned to the client to the remote user device for updating the data on the user &# 39 ; s remote device . the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention residing on the remote device , then apply the differences and updates the personalized appointment and itinerary information as requested in step 107 . the process then exits at step 109 . illustrated in fig6 is an example of the flowchart for the process to generate the appointment personalized information that is utilized in the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention . at step 121 , the server 11 receives a request for appointment personalized information . at step 122 , remote device data synchronization server 11 then calculates the user location prior to the prior appointment based upon either appointments or itineraries within their calendar at step 122 . at step 123 , the synchronization server 11 then retrieves the directions for the appointments from a map contents service provider . the map service provider can be for example but is not limited to mapquest . at step 124 , the personalized appointment information is formatted for the appropriate remote device type . the appointment personalized information process 120 then exits at step 129 . illustrated in fig7 is an example of the itinerary personalized information process 140 . first , the personalized itinerary information process 140 receives a request for itinerary personalized information at step 141 . at step 142 , the personalized itinerary information process 140 then determines the user &# 39 ; s location prior to that segment based upon other appointments and itineraries in the user &# 39 ; s component accessories . these component accessories include , but are not limited to , a calendar , scheduler , outlook , email or other email based system . at step 143 , the personalized itinerary information process 140 then retrieves directions for each of the locations determined at step 142 . the directions may be obtained from any type map service including , but not limited to , mapquest . at step 144 , the personalized itinerary information process 140 then retrieves the weather for each city included in the itinerary . this weather data can be obtained from either the synchronization server 11 or centralized database 12 or may be directly requested from a third party vendor 23 . third party vendors include , but are not limited to , accuweather , map quest , the national weather service , weather . com , the weather channel , intellicast , or other like services . at step 145 , the personalized itinerary information process 140 then formats the itinerary personalized data in the appropriate format for the user &# 39 ; s remote device 15 , 17 , 18 or 23 . next , the personalized itinerary information process exits at step 149 . illustrated in fig8 is an example of the weather agent 160 utilized by the remote device synchronization system 100 of the present invention . first , the weather agent is initialized at step 161 . at step 162 , the weather agent determines whether it is time for the weather update to occur . this weather update can be a scheduled process or may be on any predetermined time schedule as set by the user and / or the server system administrator . if it is determined at step 162 that it is not yet time for the update , the weather agent then checks whether is time to update the weather conditions for the cities selected in user itineraries . if it is determined in step 161 that it is not time to update the weather itinerary , then the weather agent 162 returns then waits for an appropriate time . wait time period is executed at step 162 . the weather agent then returns to step 162 to check whether it is time for the weather update to occur . however , if it is determined at step 162 it is time for a weather update to occur , the weather agent then retrieves the weather text files containing the weather data for the thousands of cities worldwide currently being utilized . for example , the weather agent can retrieve text files for worldwide major cities or in an alternative embodiment can scan the itinerary data on database 12 ( fig1 ) to determine which cities currently are in need of updated weather information . after retrieving the weather text at step 164 , the weather agent 160 then parses the weather data files in step 165 and updates the weather data in the database 12 ( fig1 ) or later availability to remote users at step 166 . the weather agent then returns to step 162 to check it is time for the next weather update to occur . illustrated in fig9 is an example of flowchart illustrating the itinerary agent 180 utilized in the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention . first , the itinerary agent 180 is initialized at step 181 . at step 182 , the itinerary agent 180 checks to see if it &# 39 ; s time to update the itinerary processes at step 182 . if it is determined in step 182 that it is not time to update the itineraries , the itinerary agent 180 then waits a pre - determined period at step 183 before returning to step 182 to check if it &# 39 ; s time to update the itineraries . if it is determined in step 182 that it is time to perform the update of the itineraries then the itinerary agent 180 receives an itinerary in xml format at step 184 . at step 185 , the itinerary agent 180 processes the itinerary and converts the information into the itinerary agents internal itinerary format . in step 186 , the itinerary agent then updates the itinerary in the remote user &# 39 ; s calendar within the remote device data synchronization system database 12 ( fig1 ) for later access by the user . the itinerary agent then returns to repeat steps 182 through 186 . illustrated in fig1 a through 10c are flowcharts illustrating the process to synchronize a contact from the remote device data synchronization server to a remote device as utilized in the remote device data synchronization system 100 of the present invention . first in step 201 , the remote device data synchronization server 11 synchronizes a contact to a user remote device address book . in step 202 , the remote device data synchronization server 11 then inspects the contact with a total number of phone field types at step 203 at step 204 , the synchronization server 11 then determines if there are more than 5 phone field types . it is determined in step 204 that there are not more than 5 phone field types then the synchronization contact process 200 then performs the minimized synchronization process to 200 hereindefined in further detail with regard to fig1 b . after performing the minimized contact synchronization process 220 , the contact synchronization process 200 then exits at step 209 . however , if it &# 39 ; s determined at step 204 that there are more than 5 phone field types , then the contact process 200 performs the maximum contact synchronization process 240 that is hereindefined in further detail with regard to fig1 c . after performing the maximum contact synchronization process 240 , the contact synchronization process 200 then exits to step 209 . illustrated in figure 10b is the minimal contact synchronization process 220 . first , the minimal contact synchronization process 220 acquires a slot for each field type in step 221 . in step 222 , the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then assigns for each field type the phone field to the appropriate field type . at step 223 , the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then determines if there are additional phone fields for the current field type . if it is determined in step 223 that there are additional phone fields for the current field type , then the minimized contact synchronization process 200 then appends a carriage return to the current field type and at step 223 and the next phone field of the same type at step 225 . after getting the next phone field of the same type at step 225 , the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then returns to step 222 to assign the next phone field to the appropriate field type . however , if it is determined that step 223 that there are no more additional phone fields for the current field type then the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then determines if there are any other field types remaining at step 226 . it is determined that step 226 that there are other field types remaining then the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then returns to repeat steps 222 through 226 . however , if it &# 39 ; s determined that step 226 that there are no other field types remaining then the minimized contact synchronization process 220 then exits at step 229 . illustrated in fig1 c , it is an example of the maximized contact synchronization process 240 . first , the maximized contact synchronization process assigns the first 4 slots with their own field type at step 241 . at step 242 , the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then assigns the phone field to the appropriate field type . at step 243 , the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then determines if there are additional phone fields for the current field type . if it is determined that step 243 that there are additional phone fields for the current field type , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then perform step 244 to append the carriage return delimiter to the current field type and gets the next phone field of the same type . after appending the carriage return delimiter and getting the next phone field of the same type at step 244 the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then returns to repeat step 242 . however , at step 243 that there are no additional phone fields for the current field type then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then determines if there are other field types remaining at step 245 . if it is determined at step 245 that there are other field types remaining , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then determines if the remaining field type is the 5 th field type at step 246 . if it is determined that step 246 that the next field type is not the 5 th field type , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then returns to repeat step 242 . however , if it is determined that step 246 that the next field type is the 5 th field type , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 assign the 5 th slot as other at step 251 . at step 252 , the label tag based upon the field type of the current slot . at step 253 , the maximized contact synchronization process 240 assigns the phone field to the “ other ” slot and determines that step 254 if there are other remaining phone fields to be processed . if it is determined that step 254 that there are other phone fields remaining , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then appends a carriage return delimiter and gets the next phone field at step 255 . the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then returns to repeat steps 252 through 254 . however , if it is determined that step 254 that there are no other field types remaining , then the maximized contact synchronization process 240 then exits at step 259 . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to embodiments of the present invention , as set forth above , without departing substantially from the principles of the present invention . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention , as defined in the claims that follow .

6Physics

the software architecture for the mdbc method of interaction between a http client and http server is shown in fig1 . in fig1 , the client computer is connected to the internet using any type of link low or high bandwidth ). http client in fig1 represents any http client that requests data from a server using the http protocol . http server component in fig1 represents any http server that supplies data to requesting clients . http client on the client computer does not directly interact with http server . rather , two intermediate software components are used — one on the client side , and the other on the server side . the client side component is called client proxy . the server side component is called server proxy . a server proxy can concurrently interact with ( or serve ) more than one client proxy components located on different client computers . instead of sending its http request for data directly to http server , http client sends the data to client proxy . client proxy , as described later , may modify the original request from http client and then sends the request to server proxy . depending upon the situation , as described later , server proxy first attempts to respond to client proxy &# 39 ; s request using its own cached data , failing which it may send the request to http server . similarly , an http response from http server is communicated through the server proxy and then to client proxy , before being delivered to http client . optionally , all the data that is communicated between client proxy and server proxy can be optimized using a customized protocol between client proxy and server proxy by using optimization techniques , including but not limited to , data compression techniques . based on the software architecture shown in fig1 , the caching techniques outlined in fielding are improved using the algorithm described as follows : prior to sending a http request for data , http client may optionally search its own cache and then determine if a valid copy of the required data is present in its own cache or whether a http request for a given url needs to be sent . next , for each data being requested , http client sends client proxy a request of the following form : both client proxy and server proxy maintain their respective databases that hold , for a certain period of time , additional information about each http response data corresponding to a url that has previously been received along with the actual response data . this additional information is called meta - data associated with the response data . this meta - data includes , but is not limited to , the url associated with the response data , the type of data in the response data ( for example , a text file , or a gif image file ), the length of the response data , a hash value associated with the response data . the hash value could be computed using crc - 16 , crc - 32 , shal , md2 , md4 , md5 , or any other suitable algorithm . by design , client proxy and server proxy are coordinated with respect to the meta - data elements used in a particular implementation of mdbc method and algorithms used for computing each such meta - data element . in a case in which no prior response data is found in client proxy cache for the given url , the client proxy simply forwards http client &# 39 ; s request to server proxy . server proxy first searches its own data cache for the response data for the url specified by the client proxy that is currently valid based on either expiration time method or the last - modified time method . if such data is found , server proxy returns the response data to the client proxy . otherwise , server proxy interacts as a regular http client with http server as described in fielding and receives the response data from the http server . server proxy sends the response data to client proxy . in either case , the client proxy , in turn , sends the response data to http client . both client proxy and server proxy cache the response data along with the meta - data in their respective databases for their future use . in a case in which , a prior response corresponding to the requested url is found in client proxy &# 39 ; s cache , client proxy , as part of a modified request , forwards to server proxy elements of the meta - data associated with the prior response data for that specific url . server proxy , upon receiving the request from the client proxy , first attempts to fulfill the request from the client proxy by examining its own cache . if a prior response data for the particular url is found in server proxy &# 39 ; s cache , which is still valid based on either the expiration time method or the last - modified time method , then server proxy retrieves the meta - data for the response data from its cache and compares each element of the newly computed meta - data with the corresponding values of meta - data supplied by client proxy . if the values for all the corresponding elements of meta - data match , then the server proxy informs the client proxy to deliver to http client the response data that is stored in the client proxy &# 39 ; s cache . the actual response body is not transmitted from the server proxy to client proxy . client proxy delivers the http response data from the client proxy &# 39 ; s cache to the http client . if , on the other hand , server proxy does not find a valid prior response data for the particular url in its cache then server proxy acts as a http client to the http server and sends a regular http request based on the protocol described in fielding to http server . http server sends the http response data to server proxy . on receiving response data from http server , server proxy computes the meta - data for the newly received response data from http server , using the same algorithm as was used by the client proxy , and compares each element of the newly computed meta - data with the corresponding values of meta - data supplied by client proxy . if the values for all the corresponding elements of meta - data match , then the server proxy informs the client proxy to deliver to the http client the data that is stored in the client proxy &# 39 ; s cache . the actual response body is not transmitted from the server proxy to client proxy . server proxy stores the response data along with the associated url and meta - data in its own cache . finally , if server proxy , on receiving the requested response data either from its own cache or from http server , computes the meta - data for the newly received response data , and any element of the newly computed meta - data does not match with the corresponding element of the meta - data supplied by the client proxy , the cached copy of the response data , stored in client proxy &# 39 ; s cache , is considered invalid . in this case , server proxy sends the newly received response data to the client proxy . client proxy then sends the response data to http client . both client proxy and server proxy cache the new response data in their respective databases along with the associated url and meta - data for their future use . this method may result in a significant reduction in the volume of data transmission from server proxy to client proxy , and therefore , it may also reduce the time elapsed from the time the request was generated by the http client and the time the response is delivered to the http client . it is particularly beneficial when client proxy and server proxy are connected over a low bandwidth link . the caching method according to embodiments of the invention coexists with those techniques described in fielding , but also handles cases the techniques in fielding may miss . for instance , even data marked as “ cache - control : private ” or “ cache control : no - cache ” ( indicating that the data should not be cached ) can be safely cached using the mdbc method according to embodiments of the invention . also , the meta - data can be used to supplement the methods in fielding as additional or independent metrics for ascertaining whether a cached copy of response data is valid or not . furthermore , so long as a suitable meta - data is used , the http client can achieve a high degree of certainty in receiving the requested data that is correct , and not “ stale ”. as an example , a situation is illustrated here where client proxy uses the length of the response data and a computed hash value as two elements of the meta - data ( in addition to the url string itself ) associated with a response data for a url . for each data being requested , http client sends client proxy a request of the following form : in a case in which no prior response data is found in client proxy cache for the given url , the client proxy simply forwards http client &# 39 ; s request to server proxy . server proxy first searches its own data cache for the response data for the url specified by the client proxy that is currently valid based on either the expiration time method or last - modified time method . if such data is found , proxy server returns the response data to the client proxy . otherwise , server proxy interacts as a regular http client with http server as described in fielding and receives the response data from the http server . server proxy sends the response data to client proxy . in either case , client proxy , in turn , sends the response data to http client . both client proxy and server proxy cache the response data , along with the url string , length and hash value , in their respective databases for their future use . in the case where a prior response corresponding to the requested url is found in client proxy &# 39 ; s cache , client proxy , as part of a modified request , forwards to server proxy the request for the url along with the length and the hash value of the last response data it received for that specific url . server proxy , upon receiving the request from the client proxy , first attempts to fulfill the request from the client proxy by examining its own cache . if a prior response data for the particular url is found in server proxy &# 39 ; s cache , which is still valid based on either expiration time method or last - modified time method , then server proxy computes the length and hash value for the response data from its cache , using the same algorithm as was used by the client proxy , and compares new length and hash value with the length and hash value respectively supplied by client proxy . if the length and hash values both match , server proxy informs client proxy to deliver http client the response data that is stored in client proxy &# 39 ; s cache . the actual body of response data is not transmitted from the server proxy to client proxy . client proxy delivers the http response data from the client proxy &# 39 ; s cache to the http client . if , on the other hand , server proxy does not find a valid prior response data for the particular url in its cache then server proxy acts as a http client to the http server and sends a regular http request based on the protocol described in fielding to http server . http server sends the http response data to server proxy . on receiving response data from the http server , server proxy computes the length and hash value for the newly received response data from http server , using the same algorithm as was used by client proxy , and compares the newly computed length and hash value with the values of length and hash value respectively , supplied by client proxy . if the length and hash value match with the length and hash value supplied by the client proxy , then the server proxy informs the client proxy to deliver to the http client the data that is stored in the client proxy &# 39 ; s cache . the actual response body is not transmitted from the server proxy to client proxy . server proxy stores the response data along with the associated url and meta - data in its own data cache . finally , if server proxy , on receiving the requested response data either from its own cache or from http server , computes the length and hash value for the newly received response data , and either newly computed length or hash value does not match with the corresponding length and hash value supplied by the client proxy , the cached copy of the response data , stored in client proxy &# 39 ; s cache , is considered invalid . in this case , server proxy sends the newly received response data to the client proxy . client proxy then sends the response data to http client . both client proxy and server proxy cache the new response data in their respective databases along with the associated url and meta - data for their future use . other embodiments of the mdbc method are possible based on placement of software functionality for http client , client proxy , server proxy and http server components described above . these alternate embodiments are briefly described here . 1 . http client and the client proxy can be located on different computers . a single client proxy , in this case , can serve one or more http clients located on different computers . 2 . the functionality of the http client and client proxy can be combined in a single software component . for example , a web - browser can implement the combined functionality of http client and client proxy . 3 . server proxy and http server may be located on the same computer . 4 . the functionality of server proxy and server can be combined into a single software component . 5 . the mdbc method is also applicable and can be extended to other name / value - based protocols such as the file transfer protocol ( ftp ). it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein and shown in the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of invention . those skilled in the art will recognize that the elements of the illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the spirit of the invention . therefore , the invention as described herein contemplates all such embodiments and modified embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims or equivalents thereof .

7Electricity

now , embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows one embodiment illustrative of the fundamental construction of the present invention . the multiplexing apparatus in the figure multiplexes information signals from a plurality of terminal equipment ( 11a - 11d ), and delivers them from a transmission line interface 18 to a subscriber line 19 . each of the terminal equipment is assumed to send an information signal in a capacity which is at most three times as large as a basic multiplexing capacity r1 . the subscriber line 19 is also assumed to have a transmission capacity three times as large as r1 . the information signal sent from the terminal equipment 11 is applied from a terminal equipment interface 12 to the multiplexing apparatus . timing extraction , code conversion , etc . are performed in the terminal equipment interface 12 . the information signal converted into the internal signal of the apparatus in the terminal equipment interface 12 is input to a fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 . the fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 supplies one of the three output lines thereof with a signal having an information capacity equal to r1 as shown in fig4 a ( in which numeral 41 indicates an overhead , and numeral 42 information ), or a signal having an information capacity less than r1 as shown in fig4 b ( in which numeral 43 indicates information , and numeral 44 dummy bits ). in addition , a signal having an information capacity larger than r1 has been multiplexed in bit interleave fashion with r1 as a unit as shown in fig4 c ( in which numeral 45 indicates a tdm time division multiplexed ) frame ), and it is divided into the frames as shown in fig4 a by the multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 , these frames being delivered to the three or two output lines . a frame alignment signal , a signal indicating the magnitude of an information capacity included in the pertinent frame , the sequence no . of information extending over a plurality of r1 frames , etc . are contained in the overhead 41 of the frame format in fig4 a or 4b , and they are separated by the fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 and then sent to a controller 14 . the controller 14 is monitoring the service state of the subscriber line 19 with call setting information contained in the overhead , and it controls a distributing switch network 15 and three variable multiplexers 16 on the basis of the service state . under the control of the controller 14 , the distributing switch network 15 distributes the information signals from the plurality of terminal equipments 11 to the three variable multiplexers 16 . the distributed outputs to each of the variable multiplexers are required in the number of the terminal equipments . in fig1 a case of eight terminal equipments is depicted . in this case , the distributing switch network 15 has 24 × 24 lattice switches . the lattice number of the lattice switches can also be enlarged in anticipation of the expansion of the information capacity in the future . the outputs from the distributing switch network 15 are controlled by the controller 14 so that the summation of eight signals to be input to one variable multiplexer 16 may become within the capacity r1 . the variable multiplexer 16 arranges the inputs from the distributing switch network 15 within the frame as shown in fig4 a on the basis of the control of the controller 14 . besides , the type and capacity of information included in the pertinent frame , a frame alignment signal , sequence no ., etc . are written into the overhead part 41 . the outputs of the three variable multiplexers 16 are multiplexed in the bit interleave form by a fixed multiplexer 17 . the multiplexed signal is delivered from the transmission line interface 18 to the subscriber line 19 . fig8 shows the functional block configuration of the fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 . a signal r3 having a multiplexing capacity three times as large as the capacity r1 , and a clock ck extracted by the terminal equipment interface 12 are input . the signal r3 is written into a shift register 82 at the rate of the clock ck . this clock ck has its frequency divided into 1 / 3 by a frequency divider 81 , thereby to become the read clock of the shift register 82 . each of the signals divided by 3 has the capacity r1 . frames are synchronized using frame alignment patterns in the overheads 41 , by frame synchronizers 83 , and the overhead is separated every r1 frame by an overhead separator 85 . fig9 shows the functional blocks of the fixed multiplexer 17 . signals each having the capacity r1 as applied from the left are written into a shift register 91 with the clock having the same rate as that of the signal r1 , and are read out with a clock obtained by multiplying the clock ck by means of a frequency multiplier 92 . thus , the signal r3 in which the r1 frames are multiplexed in bit interleave fashion is produced . fig1 is a diagram showing the functional block configuration of the variable multiplexer 16 . signals from the distributing switch network 15 are respectively written into frame aligners 101 at the rate r1 . the written information items are read out at predetermined timings and the read r1 with the control signals of the controller 14 . the read information items are changed - over and multiplexed by a multiplexer 102 in synchronism with the timings . control signal lines for controlling the frame aligners 101 or the multiplexer 102 are required in a number corresponding to the number of the terminal equipment . they are expressed by a single line in fig1 . such a variable multiplexer can be realized even when the frame aligners are replaced with a phase adjusting circuit such as a variable - length shift register . according to this embodiment , each of all the terminal equipment interfaces 12 can handle the information signal whose capacity is three times as large as the capacity r1 . this brings forth the effect that information items from information at a low rate below r1 to information at a high rate three times as high as r1 can be transmitted by any of the interfaces . fig5 shows another embodiment of the present invention . this embodiment indicates the case of a subscriber where only terminal equipment each having a transmission rate of at most r1 are possessed and where the transmission rate of a subscriber line is r1 . in a case where such a subscriber introduces a terminal equipment at a transmission rate of 3 × r1 anew , two variable multiplexers , one fixed multiplexer as well as one fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer , one transmission line as well as one terminal equipment interface , and a distributing switch network may be added . it is only a transmission line interface 53 that becomes unnecessary at the time of the expansion in the apparatus configuration in fig5 and the expansion can be efficiently implemented . fig6 shows another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , a subscriber line has a transmission capacity of 12 × r1 . the part of each terminal equipment interface 12 corresponding to a capacity of 8 × r1 shall be accessed only in r1 unit . besides , a terminal equipment 61a requiring a transmission rate of 6 × r1 and a terminal equipment 61b requiring a transmission rate of 3 × r1 are used . in this embodiment , some of the outputs of a distributing switch network 15 are directly applied to a fixed multiplexer 64 without passing a variable multiplexer 16 . a signal from any terminal equipment , which is satisfactorily accessed in r1 unit and which need not divide an r1 frame for use , has such a path selected by the distributing switch network 15 and is multiplexed into a tdm frame by the fixed multiplexer 64 . also , a signal which is not the signal from the terminal equipment accessed in r1 unit can be processed in such a way that a part corresponding to r1 in the signal divided by a fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 13 is not passed through the variable multiplexer 16 , and that only a part outside r1 is multiplexed with signals from other terminal equipment by the variable multiplexer 16 . according to this embodiment , the number of the variable multiplexers 16 can be decreased in accordance with the sorts of the terminal equipment used by a subscriber , to bring forth the advantage that the construction of the apparatus is simplified . fig7 shows another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , information signals from a terminal equipment 61a requiring a transmission capacity of 6 × r1 and a terminal equipment 61b requiring a transmission capacity of 3 × r1 are respectively divided by multiplexed signal demultiplexers 63 and 13 , whereupon they are directly input to a fixed multiplexer 72 without passing through a distributing switch network 15 . in this construction , the terminal equipment 61a and 61b are coupled to a subscriber line on any occasion . this embodiment has the effect that the transmission capacity can be expanded beyond the scale of the distributing switch network 15 . fig1 shows an embodiment in the case where the terminal equipment 61a and 61b in fig7 are respectively terminal equipment 61a &# 39 ; and 61b &# 39 ; each of which delivers a signal as shown in fig4 c wherein a plurality of r1 frames are multiplexed in bit interleave fashion . the signals from these terminal equipment are directly input to the fixed multiplexer 72 . according to this embodiment , the fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexers 63 and 13 are dispensed with , to bring forth the effect that the construction of the apparatus is simplified . fig1 shows an embodiment of the present invention concerning a multiplexed signal demultiplexing apparatus . a downstream subscriber line signal applied via a transmission line interface 118 is demultiplexed into signals at the rate r1 by a fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 117 . each of the demultiplexed signals is further demultiplexed in correspondence with respective terminal equipment 111 by variable multiplexed signal demultiplexers 116 . this operation is controlled by a controller 14 on the basis of the contents of overhead parts separated by the variable multiplexed signal demultiplexers 116 beforehand . the demultiplexed signals are distributed to fixed multiplers 113 corresponding to the terminal equipment 111 by means of a distributing switch network 115 . the fixed multiplexers 113 multiplex the distributed signals on the basis of sequence nos ., etc . contained in the overhead parts , and add new overhead information if necessary . the resulting signals are transmitted to the terminal equipment 111 through terminal equipment interfaces 112 . according to this embodiment , the distributing switch network 115 , fixed multiplexers 113 , fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexer 117 , etc . which are equivalent to those shown in fig1 can be used , to bring forth the effect that the circuits can be made common to those of the multiplexing apparatus . in the embodiments thus far described , the case of the eight terminal equipment has been explained . it is needless to say that the number of the terminal equipment can be more increased or be decreased . in addition , the various concepts of the embodiments elucidated as to the multiplexing apparatuses are applicable to the multiplexed signal demultiplexing apparatus . moreover , when the basic multiplexing capacity r1 in the present invention is selected at such an extent of rate that signals can be processed by a device of low power consumption such as cmos lsi , there is the effect that the multiplexing apparatus and multiplexed signal demultiplexing apparatus for signals at a higher rate are facilitated to have their sizes reduced and their power consumptions lowered . as described above , according to the present invention , a multiplexing apparatus and a multiplexed signal demultiplexing apparatus in which channel formats are made variable every call in compliance with subscribers &# 39 ; requests can be realized as the combination of fixed multiplexers , a distributing switch network , variable multiplexers and fixed multiplexed signal demultiplexers . this produces the effect that the various requests of subscribers can be readily coped with in both the points of a transmission capacity and a multiplexed channel format . further , since the respective constituent circuits can be turned into modules with a basic multiplexing capacity as a unit , enlarging a transmission capacity is permitted merely by exchanging a transmission line interface and adding necessary modules . this produces the effect that an expansion conforming to the necessity of a subscriber can be economically implemented .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

fig1 shows a circuit 10 , in accordance with the invention , for adaptively canceling an unwanted portion of a signal spectrum present on a signal line 12 running between an antenna 14 and a pre - amplifier 16 within a very high frequency receiver ( not shown ). in the preferred embodiment , the frequency spectrum of interest lies in the range of 800 - 900 mhz , although it should be understood that the canceling technique of the invention is applicable to other frequency bands . the canceling circuit 10 comprises a first directional coupler 18 , loosely coupled to the main signal line 12 , for sampling the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum present on the line . the output signal of the coupler 18 is hereinafter defined as the &# 34 ; first sample .&# 34 ; once obtained , the first sample is down - converted to avoid adding unnecessary noise during a subsequent filtering operation described below . to carry out such out - of - band filtering , the first sample is mixed at a mixer 20 with a signal supplied from an oscillator 22 , through a splitter 24 , to effectively convert the first sample to an intermediate frequency ( if ). typically the oscillator 22 generates a low power radio frequency signal in the 800 - 900 mhz range . for a different frequency spectrum , the oscillator 22 frequency would likewise be different . the output signal of the mixer 20 , representing the &# 34 ; down - converted &# 34 ; first sample , is then low - pass filtered by a low - pass filter 26 before being amplified by an if amplifier 28 . the output signal of the if amplifier 28 is filtered by an if filter 30 to enhance the unwanted portion of the spectrum . in addition to avoiding unnecessary noise and signal losses , down - converting the first sample to an intermediate frequency for the purpose of filtering also affords the advantage that the filters 26 and 30 can be made less costly than those required for filtering at rf . the down - converted first sample , appearing at the output of the if filter 30 , is mixed at a second mixer 32 with a sample of the oscillator 22 signal to yield a cancellation signal whose phase is different from that of the first sample . to generate this cancellation signal , the oscillator 22 output signal ( as split by the splitter 24 ) is supplied to a coupler 33 , typically a 3 db coupler , that generates a pair of signals which are 0 ° and 90 ° out of phase , respectively , with the oscillator 22 output signal . the 0 ° and 90 ° out - of - phase signals are attenuated by a separate one of a pair of variable attenuators 34 and 36 , respectively . a third mixer 38 mixes the 0 ° and 90 ° out - of - phase signals , as attenuated by the attenuators 24 and 36 , respectively , to yield a combination of these two signals supplied to the mixer 32 . as should be appreciated , by separately adjusting the variable attenuators 34 and 36 , the magnitude of the 0 ° and 90 ° out - of - phase signals , respectively , can be adjusted , thereby effectively controlling the phase and amplitude of the signal produced at the output of the mixer 38 . the output signal of the mixer 32 , representing the cancellation signal , is filtered by a second low pass filter 40 before being injected into the main signal line 12 through a directional coupler 42 . as may be appreciated , to the extent that the cancellation signal is phase - inverted with respect to the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum , the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum will be canceled . the amount or degree of such cancellation depends on the phase inversion between the two signals and their equal magnitudes . the better the phase inversion , the greater the degree of cancellation that will occur . the maximum degree of cancellation will occur when the unwanted portion of the spectrum and the cancellation signal are 180 ° out of phase but are of equal magnitude . in accordance with the invention , the phase of the cancellation signal is automatically and adaptively varied to maximize the extent of cancellation of the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum . to facilitate automatic adjustment of the phase of the cancellation signal to maximize the extent of cancellation , the cancellation circuit 10 of fig1 includes a third directional coupler 46 , loosely coupled to the output of the pre - amplifier 16 . the coupler 46 provides a second sample of the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum . the second sample obtained from the directional coupler 46 is input to coupler 48 which produces a pair of signals . each of a pair of correlators 50 and 52 correlates a separate one of the signals produced by the coupler 48 with the cancellation signal from the mixer 32 . the output signal of each of the correlators 50 and 52 is amplified by a separate one of a pair of operational amplifiers 54 and 56 and is then integrated by a separate one of a pair of integrators 58 and 60 . each of the integrators 58 and 60 produces an output signal which controls a separate one of the variable attenuators 34 and 36 , respectively . controlling each of the variable attenuators 34 and 36 in accordance with the correlation between a separate one of the two components of the second sample and the cancellation signal serves to maximize the extent of cancellation of the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum . this may be understood as follows . when the cancellation signal is injected into the signal line 12 , the cancellation signal , which is out of phase with the signal on the signal line 12 , and hence the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum , thus cancels part or all of the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum . the extent of the cancellation depends on the degree of phase - inversion . when the second sample , which might contain the unwanted portion of the spectrum , is correlated with the cancellation signal , the degree of correlation between them varies inversely with the degree to which the cancellation signal cancels the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum . if the extent of the cancellation is great , then the resultant correlation will be low and vice versa . by controlling each of the attenuators 34 and 36 in accordance with the correlation between a separate one of the two components of second sample and the cancellation signal , the degree of cancellation of the unwanted portion of the signal spectrum is thus adaptively maximized . each line within the path between the directional coupler 18 and the directional coupler 42 is represented in the figure by a solid line , whereas each line within the path between the directional coupler 46 and the variable attenuators 34 and 36 is represented by a dashed line . the former set of lines carries signals and has much more stringent shielding requirements , whereas the latter set of lines carries control information and is more tolerant of interference . the foregoing describes a circuit 10 for adaptively canceling an unwanted portion of a signal spectrum . it is to be understood that the above - described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention . various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof .

7Electricity

embodiments of the invention provide for a method , data processing system and computer program product for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , script disposed within source code conforming to a language for a container in a modular application execution environment such as osgi can be translated into additional source code conforming to the language for the container and compiled into a container class object . meta - data additionally can be written to the compiled container class object . the meta - data can include , for example , versioning information for the container . thereafter , at run - time the meta - data for the container class object can be read and a corresponding container can be selected based upon the meta - data . finally , the container class object can be loaded into the selected container using a classloader for the selected container . in this way , consistency can be maintained between the container used for translation and compilation and the container used for execution . in further illustration , fig1 pictorially shows a process for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file . as shown in fig1 , source code 110 compliant with a programming language native to a container 130 can include script 120 in a language not native to the container 130 . the script 120 can be translated within the container 130 into programming language native to the container 130 and embedded within the source code 110 . thereafter , the source code 110 can be compiled into compiled code 140 such as a class file for subsequent execution . of note , meta - data 150 can be included with the compiled code 140 to form executable object 160 . the meta - data 150 can include an identification of the container 130 including versioning information . at runtime , container selection data processing system 200 can extract the meta - data 150 from the executable object 160 . using the meta - data 150 , the container selection data processing system 200 can determine a most appropriate container 180 amongst a pool of containers 170 for use in deploying the executable object 160 for execution . thereafter , the selected container 180 can be used to deploy the executable object 160 . consequently , companion bundles of components requisite to the proper operation of the executable object 160 can be assured when those bundles vary depending upon the container 130 used for the translation of the script 120 and compilation of the source code 110 into the compiled code 140 . in further illustration , fig2 schematically shows a data processing system configured for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file . the system can include a host computer 210 including at least one processor and memory . an operating system 220 can execute in the memory by at least one of the processors of the computer 210 . the operating system 220 during execution can host the operation of a modular component execution environment 230 such as that configured to manage the execution of an osgi application of different bundles of class objects . of note , an object repository 250 of different executable objects 240 can be coupled to the computer 210 and accessible by the module component execution environment 230 . in this regard , the different executable objects 240 can be aggregated together into one or more bundles and deployed into different containers for execution and management by the modular component execution environment 230 . to facilitate in the selection of the different containers into which different executable objects 240 are to be deployed and loaded by corresponding classloaders , dynamic container selection logic 300 can be coupled to the modular component execution environment 230 . the dynamic container selection logic 300 can include program code that when executed by at least one processor of the computer 210 , can identify in a selected one or more of the executable objects 240 selected for execution , meta - data pertaining to the container used to translate script into source code native to the container , and to compile the source code into an executable object . for instance , the meta - data can include versioning information for the container . the program code further when executed can use the meta - data to select a container into which a selected one of the executable objects 240 is to be deployed so as to ensure compatibility between the selected one of the executable objects and the chosen container , and also to assure the contemporaneous execution of companion components requisite to the operation of the selected one of the executable objects in the selected container . in yet further illustration of the operation of the dynamic container selection logic 300 , fig3 is a flow chart illustrating a process for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file . beginning in block 310 , a directive can be received in a container to compile source code conforming to a programming language of the container . in block 320 , an embedded script can be identified within the source and in block 330 the embedded script can be translated to conform to the programming language . thereafter , in block 340 , the source code with translated embedded script can be compiled into a program object . in block 350 , meta - data identifying the container and its version can be written to the program object and in block 360 , the program object can be saved as part of a component assembly . in block 370 , a directive can be received to load and execute the component assembly . in response , in block 380 the program object can be loaded and in block 390 , the meta - data can be extracted from the program object . in block 400 , a particular container can be selected for hosting the operation of the program object according to the container and container version of the meta - data . additionally , in block 410 , supporting components such as dependencies can be located and loaded into the particular container based upon the container and container version of the meta - data . finally , in block 420 the classloader for the particular container can be used to load the program object for execution in the particular container . as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art , aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system , method or computer program product . accordingly , aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment ( including firmware , resident software , micro - code , etc .) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “ circuit ,” “ module ” or “ system .” furthermore , aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium ( s ) having computer readable program code embodied thereon . any combination of one or more computer readable medium ( s ) may be utilized . the computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium . a computer readable storage medium may be , for example , but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , or device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . more specific examples ( a non - exhaustive list ) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following : an electrical connection having one or more wires , a portable computer diskette , a hard disk , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom or flash memory ), an optical fiber , a portable compact disc read - only memory ( cd - rom ), an optical storage device , a magnetic storage device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . in the context of this document , a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain , or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein , for example , in baseband or as part of a carrier wave . such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms , including , but not limited to , electro - magnetic , optical , or any suitable combination thereof . a computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate , propagate , or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium , including but not limited to wireless , wireline , optical fiber cable , radiofrequency , and the like , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages , including an object oriented programming language and conventional procedural programming languages . the program code may execute entirely on the user &# 39 ; s computer , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer , as a stand - alone software package , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server . in the latter scenario , the remote computer may be connected to the user &# 39 ; s computer through any type of network , including a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or the connection may be made to an external computer ( for example , through the internet using an internet service provider ). aspects of the present invention have been described above with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods , apparatus ( systems ) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention . in this regard , the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture , functionality , and operation of possible implementations of systems , methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention . for instance , each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module , segment , or portion of code , which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function ( s ). it should also be noted that , in some alternative implementations , the functions noted in the block might occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two blocks shown in succession may , in fact , be executed substantially concurrently , or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality involved . it will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , can be implemented by special purpose hardware - based systems that perform the specified functions or acts , or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions . it also will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , can be implemented by computer program instructions . these computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine , such that the instructions , which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus , create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to function in a particular manner , such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer , other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . finally , the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will be further understood that the terms “ comprises ” and / or “ comprising ,” when used in this specification , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . the corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material , or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated .

6Physics

the embodiments are described in detail below with reference to drawings . in order to facilitate the understanding of the disclosure , the embodiments are described below , and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments . in addition , the embodiments described below are not mutually exclusive . thus , it is intended that elements of the embodiments are combined to each other unless there is a conflict . in addition , in the method and the program according to the disclosure , order of the processes may be changed unless there is a conflict , and alternatively , the processes may be executed at the same time . such embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the disclosure . functions of the embodiments described below are realized by executing a program code that is read by a computer . in addition , another program such as an os that operates on the computer may execute a part or all of actual processes on the basis of an instruction of the program code , thereby realizing the functions of the embodiments by such processes . in the embodiments , it is assumed that the jit compilation is performed in units of a method . in addition , in the embodiments , a set of pieces of machine language that is obtained by performing the jit compilation on methods is referred to as a routine . the embodiments are not limited to these cases . fig4 is a diagram illustrating a process of the jit compilation according to an embodiment . in jit compilation processes , processes loosely related to the embodiments are omitted in order to facilitate the understanding . in the embodiments , the process illustrated in fig4 is described as the process in the jit compilation . however , a part of or all of the process may be executed after the jit compilation has completed and a machine language routine has been generated . in the embodiments , the process may be executed in the jit compilation and may not be executed in the jit compilation . in step 402 , it is checked whether or not an instruction code to be compiled is a branch instruction . when the instruction code is not a branch instruction , the process proceeds to step 440 . when the instruction code is a branch instruction , the process proceeds to step 404 . in step 440 , an operand and an operation code of machine language are specified , and an instruction of the machine language is output . in step 404 , the type of the branch instruction is determined . when the branch instruction is a jump instruction , the process proceeds to step 406 . when the branch instruction is a call instruction , the process proceeds to step 408 . in step 406 , the operation code of the machine language to be generated is determined as the jump instruction . in step 408 , the operation code of the machine language to be generated is determined as the call instruction . in step 410 , it is determined whether or not an address of the branch destination is fixed , or whether or not the branch destination is in the same method . when a routine of the branch destination is coded , for example , by c language or the like , and is statically compiled machine language ( when the routine of the branch destination is not moved ), a “ branch destination management entry ” that is described later may not be generated . when the branch destination is in the same method , the “ branch destination management entry ” that is described later may not be generated . when the determination result in step 410 is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 430 . when the determination result is “ no ”, that is , when the branch destination address is not fixed and is an address in a method other than the same method , the process proceeds to step 420 . in step 430 , the operand of the branch instruction is set as a relative address to an instruction of the branch destination . that is , a difference between an address in which the instruction of the branch destination is located and an address in which the branch instruction is located may be stored in the operand . in step 420 , it is checked whether or not the branch destination management entry exists . the branch destination management entry includes information to identify a branch destination and a newly generated jump instruction . as the information to identify a branch destination , for example , a method name of the branch destination may be employed , and alternatively , an address of the branch destination may be used . in the newly generated jump instruction , a jump destination may be replaced in accordance with movement of a routine of the branch destination when the routine of the branch destination is moved on the memory . therefore , the generated jump instruction may jump to the moved branch destination . when the branch destination management entry exists , the process proceeds to step 428 . when the branch destination management entry does not exist , the process proceeds to step 422 . in order to determine whether or not the branch destination entry exists , whether or not both of the information to identify a branch destination and the newly generated jump instruction exist may be checked . alternatively , when the branch destination management entry may be uniquely identified merely using the information to identify the branch destination , the mere information to identify the branch destination may be checked . for example , when a plurality of jump destinations may exist in a single routine and the information to identify the branch destination is the name of the routine , it is desirable that both of the information to identify the branch destination ( the name of the routine ) and a branch destination relative address in the operand of the jump instruction are checked . alternatively , when an absolute address of the branch destination is used as the information to identify the branch destination , the mere information to identify the branch destination ( the absolute address of the branch destination ) may be checked . when the absolute address of the branch destination is used as the information to identify the branch destination , the information to identify the branch destination ( the absolute address of the branch destination ) of the branch destination management entry is rewritten in accordance with the movement of the branch destination . in step 422 , a new branch destination management entry is generated . as described above , the branch destination management entry includes “ information that indicates a method of a branch destination ” and a “ jump instruction ”. in step 424 , a relative address to the branch destination is set to the operand of a “ jump instruction ” of the branch destination management entry . by such setting , the generated “ jump instruction ” may jump to the branch destination . in step 426 , the name of the branch destination method is set to “ information that indicates a method of a branch destination ” of the branch destination management entry . the information that is stored in the “ information that indicates a method of a branch destination ” is not limited to the name of the branch destination method . as long as the branch destination method is identified , any information may be employed . for example , an absolute address of the branch destination of the routine in which a branch destination method is compiled may be employed . in step 428 , the operand of the machine language of the branch instruction is set as a relative address to the generated “ jump instruction ”. by such process , the branch instruction may jump to the generated “ jump instruction ”. by executing such process , the branch instruction may proceed to an instruction of a target branch destination through the generated “ jump instruction ”. in the generated “ jump instruction ”, there is no operation such as change of the stack pointer , so that the process may return to the branch source method when a return instruction is executed in a branch destination method even in a case in which an instruction of the branch source is a call instruction . in step 440 , an operation code and an operand are specified , and an instruction of the machine language is output . fig5 is a diagram illustrating a branch using the branch destination management entry that is stored in a branch destination management table according to the embodiment . in a method a ( 510 ), an instruction of a call method b ( 512 ) is an instruction to call a method b . the instruction might not call the method b directly . that is , the process proceeds to a jump instruction 553 that exists in a branch destination management entry b ( 551 ) in a branch destination management table 550 . an instruction 1 ( 522 ) in the method b ( 520 ) is called through the jump instruction 553 . in addition , due to a return instruction return ( 524 ), the process returns to an instruction 3 ( 514 ) in the method a ( 510 ). in fig5 , when a jump instruction jump method c ( 516 ) in the method a ( 510 ) is executed , the process may jump to an instruction 1 ( 532 ) in a method c ( 530 ) through a jump instruction 557 that exists in a branch destination management entry c ( 555 ) in the branch destination management table 550 . as described above , the call instruction and the jump instruction cause a process to proceed to a branch destination through a jump instruction that exists in a branch destination management entry in the branch destination management table 550 . in addition , referring to fig5 , in the branch destination management entry b , there exists information 552 that indicates the method b that is a branch destination . in addition , in the branch destination management entry c , there exists information 556 that indicates the method c that is a branch destination . the information 552 and the information 556 are used when the branch destination is moved . the detail of the process when the branch destination is moved is described later . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating the overview of a process that moves a routine , according to the embodiment . here , an example of the process is illustrated in which one or more routines are moved to increase a successive free memory area . in step 602 , all threads are terminated . when a thread is moved , it is probable that a new routine is dynamically generated in a memory area . thus , it is desirable that all of the threads are terminated when such a process is executed . in step 604 , a first routine included in the routine area is set as a “ target routine ”. the process is a process that first identifies a routine currently focused so as to process the one or more routines in order from the first routine . in step 606 , it is checked whether or not a “ target routine ” exists . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 616 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 608 . in step 608 , it is checked whether or not a free space exists in an area with an address smaller than the address of the “ target routine ” in the routine area . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 612 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 610 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, it is indicated that the free space exists in the area with the address , which is smaller than the address of the “ target routine ”, and the free space may be used when the target routine is moved in a direction to the area with the address , which is smaller than the address of the “ target routine ”. in step 610 , the movement of the routine is executed . the process is described later with reference to the detailed flowchart of the process that moves the routine ( fig7 ). in step 612 , it is determined whether or not a routine exists in an area with an address larger than the address of the “ target routine ” in the routine area . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 616 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 614 . in step 614 , a next routine the address of which is larger than the “ target routine ” is set as a “ target routine ”. by such a process , a routine to be moved next is identified as a focused routine . the process then returns to step 608 . in step 616 , a process is executed for a case in which a return instruction that corresponds to a call instruction is executed and all of the threads are terminated before the return instruction is executed . that is , in the series of processes , it is probable that a return destination of the return instruction is moved . in this case , a process that adjusts a return address of the return instruction is executed so that the return operation is appropriately performed . the detail of the process is described later with reference to a flowchart of the process that adjusts the return address of the return instruction ( fig9 ). in step 618 , all of the threads that have been terminated are moved . by the above - described process , one or more routines are moved , and a successive free memory area is increased , so that the fragmentation of the memory may be removed . fig7 is a flowchart illustrating the detail of the process that moves a routine , according to the embodiment . in step 702 , a movement destination address of a routine that is a movement target is calculated . in such calculation , the movement destination address may be determined so that the routine is moved by the size of the free area that exists in an area with the small address . in step 704 , it is desirable to create a routine movement management entry in a routine movement management table . in the routine movement management entry , “ routine address of the movement source ”, “ size ”, and “ value obtained by subtracting a movement source address from the movement destination address ” of the movement target are respectively set as “ movement source address ”, “ routine size ”, and “ offset ”. the information is created when the call instruction is executed and all of the threads are terminated in step 602 before the return instruction is executed , so as to store information that is used to adjust the return address when the return address is moved due to the movement of the routine of the return destination . the detail of the process using such information is described later . in step 706 , it is determined whether or not a branch destination management entry that corresponds to the routine that is a movement target exists . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 710 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 708 . in step 708 , a jump destination relative address of the jump instruction in the branch destination management entry is corrected to be the movement destination address . the existence of the branch destination management entry indicates that a routine to be moved is a routine that is a target branched from another routine by the jump instruction or the call instruction . thus , the jump destination of the jump instruction that exists in the branch destination management entry is adjusted in accordance with the movement of the routine . in step 710 , the first instruction of the routine that is a movement target is referred to as a “ check target instruction ”. by such a process , the first instruction of the routine is first identified as a focused instruction in the routine . in step 712 , it is determined whether or not a “ check target instruction ” is a branch instruction to the outside of the routine that is a movement target . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 716 . when the “ check target instruction ” is a branch instruction to an address within the routine that is a movement target , it is not desired to correct address information in the operand of the branch instruction . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 714 . in step 714 , a process is executed in which the movement source address of the routine that is a movement target is subtracted from a movement destination address of the routine , and the calculation result is subtracted from the operand of the “ check target instruction ”. in the process , a relative address stored in the operand of the “ check target instruction ” is adjusted so that the operand corresponds to the jump instruction of the branch destination management entry . in step 716 , it is determined whether or not there exists an instruction next to the “ check target instruction ”. when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 718 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process returns to step 712 . by the above - described process , when the branch destination management entry exists , a jump destination of the corresponding jump instruction is adjusted to be an address of the movement destination of the movement target routine . in addition , contents of operands of all branch instructions that exist in the movement target routine are appropriately adjusted to correspond to an address in which the jump instruction of the branch destination management entry exists . in step 718 , a process is executed in which contents of the routine that is a movement target are copied to the movement destination . fig8 is a diagram illustrating a routine movement management table according to the embodiment . a routine movement management table 800 includes a routine movement management entry 810 . the routine movement management entry 810 includes a routine address 812 of the movement source , a routine size 814 , and an offset 816 that is an address movement amount of the routine . the routine address 812 of the movement source may be , for example , a first address of the routine . a range of the address that the routine has occupied before movement is found out from the routine address 812 of the movement source and the routine size 814 . when such a range of the address includes a return address of the return instruction , the return address is adjusted on the basis of the offset value . even when a routine of a return destination is moved , the return instruction is appropriately executed by the adjustment of the return address . fig9 is a flowchart illustrating the process that adjusts the return address of the return instruction , according to the embodiment . in step 902 , it is determined whether or not a thread that is not processed exists . it is probable that , for a thread that is in the middle of processing when all of the threads are terminated , the return instruction is not executed after execution of the call instruction . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process proceeds to step 910 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 904 . in step 904 , it is determined whether or not a frame that is not processed exists . in java , the call and return instructions are managed in a stack for each thread , and information about the stack is treated in units of a frame . thus , when a frame exists , it is found that the return instruction has not been executed . when the determination result is “ no ”, the process returns to step 902 , and the other threads are checked . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 906 . in step 906 , it is determined whether or not a return address that is stored in the frame is included in any range of a “ routine movement management entry ” that exists in the “ routine movement management table ”. that is , it is determined whether or not the return address is in an address range in which the routine of the movement source exists . when the determination result is “ no ”, the return address might not be adjusted . therefore , the process returns to step 904 , and the other frames are checked . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the process proceeds to step 908 . in step 908 , an “ offset ” of the corresponding “ routine movement management entry ” is added to the return address that is stored in the frame . by such a process , the return address is corrected to an address of the routine of the movement destination , so that the return address is adjusted appropriately . in step 910 , all “ routine movement management entries ” that are included in the “ routine movement management table ” are deleted . the deletion is executed because adjustment of all return addresses is completed and information about all of “ routine movement management entries ” that are included in the “ routine movement management table ” is not used . in addition , in order to execute a process that moves a new routine appropriately , it is desirable to remove such information . fig1 is a functional block diagram according to the embodiment . the functional block diagram according to the embodiment illustrated in fig1 includes a jit compiler 1010 , a movement control unit 1050 , and one or more routines 1060 . the jit compiler 1010 includes a branch destination management entry generation unit 1012 and a branch instruction setting unit 1014 . the branch destination management entry generation unit 1012 may generate , for example , a branch destination management entry 1053 . when the branch destination management entry 1053 already exists , the same entry might not be created . two or more branch instructions that indicate the same branch destination may share one branch destination management entry as long as the one branch destination management entry exists . the branch instruction setting unit 1014 stores an address in which the jump instruction 553 exists , in an operand of a branch instruction on which the jit compilation is performed . therefore , the branch instruction on which the jit compilation is performed may be branched , for example , to the method b ( 520 ) through the jump instruction 553 in the branch destination management entry b ( 551 ) in fig5 . in fig1 , the movement control unit 1050 includes a jump destination correction unit 1052 , a branch instruction correction unit 1054 , a routine movement management entry generation unit 1056 , a return relative address correction unit 1058 , and a return relative address determination unit 1059 . the jump destination correction unit 1052 corrects an operand of a jump instruction in the branch destination management entry 1053 when the routine of the branch destination is moved . the branch instruction correction unit 1054 corrects an operand of a branch instruction when the branch instruction is moved . the routine movement management entry generation unit 1056 generates the routine movement management entry 1057 . the return relative address determination unit 1059 determines whether or not a return address of a return instruction is in the address range of the routine of the movement source , with reference to the contents of the routine movement management entry 1057 . when the determination result is “ yes ”, the return relative address correction unit 1058 corrects the return address so that the return instruction returns to the routine of the movement source . the routine 1060 , the branch destination management entry 1053 , and the routine movement management entry 1057 may exist in the memory . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the according embodiment . in the embodiment , hardware includes a processor 1102 such as a central processing unit ( cpu ), a memory 1104 such as a random access memory ( ram ), a display control unit 1106 such as a graphic card , a display device 1108 , an input device 1110 such as a keyboard and a mouse , a communication control unit 1112 such as a network interface card ( nic ), a drive device 1114 , and a hard disk 1118 . in addition , the pieces of hardware are coupled to each other through a bus 1120 . in addition , the drive device 1114 may read from and write to a portable recording medium 1116 . in addition , a network ( not illustrated ) may be coupled to the communication control unit 1112 . the java vm and the jit compiler that operates on the java vm according to the embodiment are stored in the memory 1104 , the hard disk 1118 , and the like , and operate by the processor 1102 . the compiled machine language routine may be arranged on the memory 1104 through a virtual memory architecture . all or a part of the embodiments are implemented by a program . the program may be stored in the portable recording medium 1116 . the portable recording medium 1116 is one or more non - transitory tangible storage mediums each of which has a structure . as the portable recording medium 1116 , a magnetic recording medium , an optical disk , an optical magnetic recording medium , a non - volatile memory , and the like may be employed . examples of the magnetic recording medium include a hard disk drive ( hdd ), a flexible disk ( fd ), a magnetic tape ( mt ). examples of the optical disk include a digital versatile disc ( dvd ), a digital versatile disc - read only memory ( dvd - ram ), a compact disc - read only memory ( cd - rom ), a compact disc recordable ( cd - r ), a compact disc rewritable ( rw ). in addition , examples of the optical magnetic recording medium include a magneto - optical disk ( mo ). the program stored in the portable recording medium is read and executed by the processor , thereby implementing all or a part of the embodiments . in the embodiments , the case in which an relative address is used for a branch instruction , and alternatively , the embodiments may be applied to a case in which an absolute address is used for the branch instruction . for example , an absolute address may be used for the branch instruction because an absolute address of a branch destination ( including a return destination of a return instruction ) varies when the branch destination is moved on the memory . it is desirable to execute processes according to the embodiments regarding this aspect . however , the absolute address may not be used for the branch instruction regarding this aspect in some cases because the absolute address of the branch destination ( including the return destination of the return instruction ) does not vary even when a branch source ( including the return instruction ) is moved on the memory . note that it is probable that the above - described two aspects occur at the same time because the routine may be the branch source and also the branch destination when the routine is moved on the memory . all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions , nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .

6Physics

the preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawing figures where like numerals represent like elements throughout . the initial cell search system 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig4 . the system 10 comprises a step 1 processor 12 , a cancellation device 18 , a step 2 processor 14 , and a step 3 processor 16 , to accomplish initial synchronization between a user equipment ( ue ) and a base station . step 1 of the initial cell search algorithm is accomplished using the step 1 processor 12 . fig4 shows one implementation of a step 1 processor , although others may be used . the step 1 processor 12 comprises a hierarchical golay correlator ( hgc ) 21 and a psc decision device 22 . the purpose of the step 1 processor 12 is to find the strongest base station &# 39 ; s psc over a frame or multiple frames worth of samples . a chip - sampled input signal i is received by the ue and processed by the hgc 21 . the hgc 21 is a reduced complexity implementation of the correlation process between psc and the input signal i at consecutive chip locations . the output of the hgc 21 represents the magnitudes of the detected psc power levels for those base stations detected by the hgc 21 . the base stations &# 39 ; pscs with a high received power level appear as peaks in the frame . the outputs from the hgc 21 are output to the psc decision device 22 . the psc decision device 22 , coupled to the hgc 21 , receives the correlation values output by the hgc 21 for each chip in a frame worth of chips . a frame &# 39 ; s worth of chips is preferably equivalent to the system frame , which by way of example , is equivalent to 38 , 400 chips . as those having skill in the art know , the system frame can be more or less than that which is used in this disclosure . the decision device 22 stores each chip correlation value from the hgc 21 over a predetermined number of frames n and averages each chip &# 39 ; s correlation values . as an example , a system frame is 4 chips long , and n = 2 . the hgc 21 outputs the correlation values a 1 , b 1 , c 1 , and d 1 , respectively for each of the four chips . the decision device 22 stores these values and receives the output of the next frame &# 39 ; s correlation values for each chip from the hgc 21 , which are a 2 , b 2 , c 2 , d 2 . each chip &# 39 ;&# 39 ; correlation values are then averaged , ( i . e ., a 1 ,+ a 2 / 2 ; b 1 + b 2 / 2 ; c 1 + c 2 / 2 ; d 1 + d 2 / 2 ). once the decision device 22 finds the average correlation value for each average correlation chip in a frame , the position of the maximum average of the frames is determined and its value compared with a determined threshold . the threshold is based on the noise level ( i . e ., interference plus thermal noise ) at the receiver . the noise estimator 24 has an auxiliary hgc ( not shown ) that is based on a code which has very low cross correlation with the psc and the sscs . the noise estimator 24 hgc calculates a noise estimate for every chip in the system frame . the noise estimator 24 iterates over the same number of frames as the hgc 21 and averages several of the noise estimates in a window around the estimated psch location . the window size is preferably about 128 , i . e ., 64 chips on both sides of the psch location . as those having skill in the art know , the window size may be larger or smaller than 128 . if the maximum average is greater than the threshold , the decision device 22 determines whether the transmission pattern of the base station associated with the maximum average location is case 1 or case 2 . this determination is made by comparing the correlation value of the chip at the maximum location +( 8 * 2560 ) or maximum location +( 7 * 2560 ). if this value is greater than the threshold , then the transmission pattern is case 2 . otherwise , the transmission is case 1 . if the maximum location value is less than the threshold , the step 1 processor 12 continues processing the input signal i until a correlation value greater than the threshold is found or a failed condition is met . as those skilled in the art know , the decision processor 22 may utilize any of a number of methods for determining the location of the strongest psc code . once the maximum location value is found , the decision processor 22 forwards the location and the psc to the cancellation device 18 and the step 2 processor 14 . the cancellation device 18 , coupled to the step 1 processor 12 and the step 2 processor 14 , takes the maximum location , the psc and the input signal i and subtracts the psc from the input signal i . this subtraction eliminates the psc from the chip at the maximum location in the input signal i . the subtraction of the psc from the input signal i can be done by one of several cancellation methods , such as interference cancellation . using interference cancellation , the psc is converted , using an interference construction device ( not shown ), into an estimate of its contribution to the input signal i . the received psc &# 39 ; s contribution is subtracted , such as by a subtractor . the resulting signal has the psc &# 39 ; s contribution removed from the input signal i at the maximum location . in code multiplexing systems , one code appears as noise to other codes . accordingly , the psc is essentially noise to the ssc . as a result , when the psc is cancelled from the input signal i , the step 2 processor 14 is able to locate the ssc and slot offset with greater accuracy and speed . the step 2 processor 14 , coupled to the cancellation device 18 , the step 1 processor 12 and the step 3 processor 16 , receives the modified input signal from the cancellation device 18 and the location of the psc from the step 1 processor 22 . one example of a step 2 processor 14 is illustrated in fig5 , although others may be used . the step 2 processor 14 comprises correlator 31 , a fast hadamard transform device ( fht ) 33 , phase estimator device 37 , a derotate device 34 , an accumulator 36 , and a decision device 39 . since the location of the psc has been determined by the step 1 processor 12 , then the step 2 processor 14 needs only to search for the sscs in the maximum location input from the step 1 processor 12 . in this step , the ue identifies the code group and the t offset associated with the base station at the maximum location . the step 2 processor 14 also determines the frame index number within the interleaving period of two frames and it determines the slot index ( k or k + 8 ). as those skilled in the art know , the t offset determined in this step allows the ue to synchronize to the slot bo c r ( i )= c 1 ( i )* z ( i ), i = . . . , 255 undary . the modified input signal and the position of the psc are input to the correlator 31 . the correlator 31 , coupled to the fht 33 and the cancellation device 18 , correlates the received input signal with the length 256 chip code at the psc position to obtain 16 correlation values . this code , c r , is obtained from chip by chip multiplication of first ssc , c 1 , and a masking sequence , z . this is shown below : c r ( i )= c 1 ( i )* z ( i ), i = 0 , . . . , 255 equation 1 the 16 complex correlation values , r c ( k ) are obtained using the above code . r c ( k ) is obtained by the following equation 2 : r c ⁡ ( k , n ) = ∑ i = 0 15 ⁢ c r ⁡ ( 16 ⁢ k + i ) ⁢ r x ⁡ ( t cp + 16 ⁢ k + i , n ) , ⁢ k = 0 , ⁢ … ⁢ , 15 ; n = 0 , ⁢ … ⁢ , n equation ⁢ ⁢ 2 where t cp is the psc position obtained from the step 1 processor 12 and n is the maximum number of psch time slots used for averaging . the correlation values obtained at the output of the correlator 31 are applied to the fht 33 . the fht 33 , coupled to the correlator 31 and a derotate device 34 , obtains 16 complex correlation values that correspond to the correlation of 16 sscs and the received signal . that is : r f ⁡ ( k , n ) = fht ⁢ { r c ⁡ ( k , n ) } , ≈ ⁢ ∑ i = 0 255 ⁢ c k ⁡ ( i ) · z ⁡ ( i ) · r x ⁢ ⁡ ( t cp + i , n ) ⁢ ⁢ k = 0 , ⁢ … ⁢ , 15 ; n = 0 , ⁢ … ⁢ , n equation ⁢ ⁢ 3 as those skilled in the art know , taking fht of r c ( k )&# 39 ; s is equivalent to the correlation of unmasked sscs with the received signal . this is possible due to the special structure of the 16 sscs . please note that a case 1 signal uses six ( 6 ) sscs and a case 2 signal uses twelve ( 12 ) sscs . four ( 4 ) sscs are unused . the phase estimator 37 receives the modified chip sampled received signal , as well as the psc position from the step 1 processor 12 . the output of the step 1 hgc 21 at the psc position corresponds to the correlation of the psc with the received signal at the psc position . this complex correlation value is the input to the phase estimator 37 . in this phase estimator 37 , the complex correlation value is normalized and then conjugated . the phase estimation is necessary for the derotation of the sscs . the derotate device 34 , coupled to the phase estimator 37 and the fht 33 , receives the 16 sscs from the fht 33 and the phase estimation from the phase estimator 37 . the derotate device 34 derotates the output of the fht 33 . the derotation phase is the phase of the psc . the complex correlation values are complex multiplied with the phase . the derotated correlation values are then forwarded to the accumulator 36 . the accumulator 36 is coupled to the derotate device 34 and the step 2 decision device 39 . the derotated correlation values are added coherently with a period of two ( for case 1 ) or four ( for case 2 ), for n iterations in accordance with equation 4 : r a 1 ( k , n )= r a 1 ( k , n − 1 )+ rd ( k , n ) δ ( 1 − n mod l ), k = 0 , . . . , k ; n = 0 , . . . , n ; 1 = 0 , . . . l equation 4 where n is the maximum number of iterations to obtain a reliable signal value , k is the number sscs used ( k = 6 for case 1 and k = 12 for case 2 ) and l is periodicity of the psch ( l = 2 for case 1 and l = 4 for case 2 ). these correlation values are initially set to zero . the decision variables are formed from the correlation values according to the ssc transmission patterns . the decision variables obtained in the accumulator 36 are forwarded to the decision device 39 . there are 64 decision variables for case 1 , 32 code groups and 2 frames indices . for case 2 , there are 128 decision variables , 32 code groups , 2 frame indices and 2 slots ( k or k + 8 ). the decision device 39 compares all the decision variables sequentially ( one by one ). this scheme is efficient since the number of decision variables is not large and the scheme can be implemented without much complexity . the transmission pattern that the maximum decision variable belongs to indicates the code group number of case 1 and case 2 and psch slot index for case 2 . the t offset , scrambling code group number , sscs , and the location of the psc are then forwarded to the step 3 processor 16 . the step 3 processor 16 , coupled to the step 2 processor 14 , retrieves the midambles and primary scrambling code that are used by the ue . the code group number retrieved by the step 2 processor 14 is associated with four cell parameters . therefore , identification of the code group number identifies the midamble codes used by the cell . the four cell parameters associated with the code group are cycled through system frame numbers ( sfns ) as depicted in table 1 . fig6 illustrates an exemplary step 3 processor 16 . although a step 3 processor is illustrated , any step 3 processor may be utilized . the step 3 processor 16 comprises a correlation device 41 , an accumulation device 42 , and a decision device 43 . the correlation device 41 is forwarded to the code group and frame index from the step 2 processor 14 , and the psc position from the step 1 processor 12 . a periodic window size pws and multipath window size mpws are also input to the correlation device 41 . the input signal i is correlated with the four ( 4 ) midambles that are associated with the code group by the correlation device 41 . the correlation is performed at ws 3 calculated candidate midamble locations on the p - ccpch which are determined by the t offset of the code group , the periodic window size pws and the multipath window size mpws ; where ws 3 = pws + 2mpws . the basic midamble code toggles with the sfn ( odd / even ). if the sfn is even , the correlation device 41 correlates against the basic midamble code . if the sfn is odd , the correlation device 41 correlates against the cycled midamble code . for example , in the case of code group 0 , the correlation device 41 correlates against midamble codes 0 , 1 , 2 and 3 on even sfn , and the correlation device 41 correlates against midamble codes 1 , 0 , 3 and 2 on odd sfn . it should be noted that cell search does not know the sfn , but it does know whether the sfn is even or odd based on the frame index ( 1 or 2 ) found by the step 2 processor 14 . the correlation device 41 calculates 4 × ws 3 correlations . the periodic window allows the correlation device 41 to find the maximum correlation . the purpose of the multipath window is to adjust the psch position to include the maximum amount of multipath . this may be necessary if the strongest multipath component is not the first significant multipath component . the correlation values output from the correlation device 41 , are forwarded to the accumulation device 42 which is coupled to the correlation device 41 and the decision device 43 . the accumulation device 42 accumulates the correlation values over a predetermined number of frames n 3 . it should be noted that initial cell search does not know frame boundaries so the initial cell search system typically uses blocks of 38400 chips ( 2560 chips × 15 slots ) in lieu of frames . the accumulation device 42 forms the decision variables by adding the absolute value of the real and imaginary parts of the complex number that represents the correlation value . a decision variable is the magnitude measure of the corresponding correlation value . in order to have a more reliable decision , these decision variables can be accumulated for n 3 iterations , where n 3 is the maximum number of iterations for a reliable signal to noise ratio level . the decision variables generated by the accumulation device 42 are forwarded to the decision device 43 . the decision device 43 , coupled to the accumulation device 42 , determines the maximum decision variable by simple sequential comparison . the maximum decision variable corresponds to the basic midamble used for the cell . the scrambling code number associated with the identified midamble is the scrambling code of the cell . the scrambling code is then utilized by the ue for broadcast channel processing . the flow diagram for the initial cell search system is illustrated in fig7 . the ue receives the input signal over the common downlink channel ( step 601 ). the step 1 processor 12 detects the location of the psc associated with the strongest base station ( step 602 ). the step 1 processor 12 forwards the psc to the cancellation device 18 ( step 603 ). the cancellation device 18 then subtracts the psc detected from the step 1 processor 12 from the input signal i ( step 604 ) and forwards this modified signal to the step 2 processor 14 ( step 605 ). using the modified input signal from the cancellation device 18 and the location of the psc from the step 1 processor 12 , the step 2 processor 14 retrieves the sscs and determines t offset and the code group number associated with the strongest base station ( step 606 ). the code group number is then forwarded to the step 3 processor 16 ( step 607 ) which retrieves the midambles and primary scrambling codes therefrom ( step 608 ). these codes are then used by the ue to synchronize to the base station ( step 609 ). since the second step of the initial cell search is the weakest , the cancellation of the psc from the signal input to the step 2 processor 14 provides a cleaner signal and results in a better estimation of the sscs time . this results in a more accurate slot offset and code group number determination . ultimately , this procedure reduces the number of false detections by the ue . a second embodiment is illustrated in fig8 . similar to the system of fig1 , the system of this second embodiment utilizes a cancellation device 18 2 to subtract the psc and sscs from the input signal i before processing by the step 3 processor 16 . step 2 does not receive a psc removed input signal , instead the modified input signal to the step 3 processor 16 is able to more accurately detect the midamble and code group of the detected base station . a third embodiment is illustrated in fig9 . this third embodiment utilizes the cancellation devices 18 1 and 18 2 to improve the accuracy of the initial cell search system 10 . the cancellation device 18 1 removes the psc from the detected location in the input signal prior to the step 2 processor 14 . the cancellation device 18 2 removes the sscs prior to the step 3 processor 16 .

7Electricity

the thermoplastic vulcanizate material of the present invention comprises a chlorinated polyolefin and / or a chlorosulfonated polyolefin and a high performance engineering thermoplastic material such as polyurethane . it has been found that the present thermoplastic vulcanizate is particularly useful in the manufacture of high performance hoses . in a preferred aspect of the invention , the thermoplastic vulcanizate is used as the matrix for the construction of power steering hoses in automobiles . the chlorine - containing component useful in the present invention is a chlorinated polyolefin or a chlorosulfonated polyolefin and includes , but is not limited to , chlorinated polyethylene , chlorinated polypropylene , chlorosulfonated polyethylene , chlorosulfonated polypropylene , chlorinated copolymers of ethylene and propylene , chlorosulfonated copolymers of ethylene and propylene and mixtures thereof . the chlorine - containing polyolefin component of the thermoplastic vulcanizate is , typically , chlorosulfonated polyethylene although other chlorosulfonated polyolefins such as chlorosulfonated polypropylene and chlorosulfonated copolymers of ethylene and propylene may be used . for the purpose of this invention , the term copolymer is intended to include two or more monomers such as ethylene , propylene , butenes , etc . hypalon , a chlorosulfonated polyethylene available from dupont has been found to be particularly useful in the present invention . the amount of chlorinated polyolefin and / or chlorosulfonated polyolefin in the thermoplastic vulcanizate is typically in the range of about 10 to 90 % by weight of the thermoplastic vulcanizate , and preferably , about 30 to 70 % by weight of the thermoplastic vulcanizate . while each of the chlorinated polyolefin and the chlorosulfonated polyolefin can be used with the exclusion of the other in the present invention , it has been found that a combination of the chlorinated polyolefin and the chlorosulfonated polyolefin provides excellent results as well . when both chlorinated polyolefin and chlorosulfonated polyolefin are present in the thermoplastic vulcanizate , the ratio of chlorinated polyethylene to chlorosulfonated polyethylene typically will be about 3 : 1 to 1 : 3 , preferably about 2 : 1 to 1 : 2 and most preferably about 1 : 1 . as indicated earlier hypalon , a chlorosulfonated polyethylene manufactured by dupont , has been found to be particularly useful as the chlorosulfonated component . the high performance engineering thermoplastic component of the thermoplastic vulcanizate can be any of the high performance engineering thermoplastic materials commonly used in the industry . examples of such high performance engineering plastic materials include polyurethanes ; and may include polyethers such as polyacetal , polyphenylene oxide , polyether ketone , polyphenylene sulfide , etc . ; polyamides such as nylon , e . g ., nylon 6 , nylon 66 , nylon 4 , nylon 11 , nylon 12 , nylon { fraction ( 6 / 12 )}, nylon { fraction ( 6 / 10 )}, etc . ; highly aromatic polyamides such as kevlar and nomex which are available from dupont ; polyesters , such as polyethylene terephthalate ; copolyesters such as hytrel available from dupont ; polyimides , such as polyether imides , polyimide imides , polybismaleimides ; polysulfones and the like . these resins may be used alone or as a blend of two or more of the resins . preferably , the thermoplastic component is polyurethane . the amount of the high performance engineering thermoplastic component present in the thermoplastic vulcanizate will be that which is sufficient to provide the improved characteristics of the vulcanizate . the amount of the high performance engineering thermoplastic component can be in the range of about 90 to 10 % by weight based on the weight of the thermoplastic vulcanizate and , preferably , about 70 to 30 % by weight based on the weight of the thermoplastic vulcanizate .. optionally , the high performance engineering thermoplastic material may be crosslinked in the thermoplastic vulcanizate matrix by adding a suitable crosslinking agent to the vulcanizate prior to or during extrusion of the high performance hose . the thermoplastic vulcanizate of the present invention may be crosslinked with conventional crosslinking systems such as peroxides , e . g ., dicumyl peroxide , 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( t - butylperoxy ) hexane , 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( t - butylperoxy ) hexyne - 3 , 1 , 1 - bis ( t - butylperoxyne )- 3 , t - butylperoxybenzoate , and the like . it is believed that the thermoplastic vulcanizate of the present invention may also be crosslinked with polyols such as aromatic and cyclic polyols , e . g ., hexafluoroisopropylidene - bis -( 4hydroxyphenyl ) hydroquinone , isopropylidene - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ), etc . ; polyamines such as hexamethylenediamine carbamate , alicyclic diamine carbamate , dicinnamilidene hexamethylenediamine , and the like ; cyanurates such as triallyl cyanurate ( tac ); isocyanurates such as triallyl isocyanurate ( taic ); and the like ; isocyanates and diisocyanates , such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate . crosslinking agents containing at least two and preferably more than two functional groups such as tac , taic , isocyanates , mixtures of isocyanates and polymeric isocyanates having functionality of more than 2 . 0 are found to be very useful . in some cases a conventional crosslinking accelerator may be used to provide improved results . typically , the crosslinking agent will be added to the vulcanizate in an amount of about 1 to 10 % and preferably about 1 to 5 % by weight , based upon the weight of the vulcanizate . the thermoplastic vulcanizate of the invention is particularly useful in the manufacture of high performance hoses such as power steering hoses and , in addition to being able to withstand the adverse effects of high temperature and chemical degradation , the present materials do not require vulcanization on a mandrel as is commonly required in the prior art ; they can be extruded to close tolerance ; they are light weight and recyclable , and they have better abrasion and tear resistance than prior art materials . other additives such as carbon black ; silica ; calcium carbonate ; clay ; diatomaceous earth , mica ; heat stabilizers , e . g ., metal oxides such as magnesium oxide , organotin compounds , and mixed metal salts ; antioxidants ; lubricants ; plasticizers , softeners , processing aids ; and the like may be incorporated into the thermoplastic vulcanizate in amounts generally known in the art to provide the desired effect for which they are added . according to the invention , the high performance hose can be formed to close tolerance by a simple extrusion process wherein the thermoplastic vulcanizate is prepared by dynamic vulcanization where the elastomeric component is vulcanized during mixing . the following examples are submitted for the purpose of further illustrating the present invention and are not intended as a limitation on the scope thereof . thermoplastic vulcanizates ( tpv ) are made with polyurethane and chlorosulfonated polyethylene or a mixture of chlorosulfonated polyethylene and chlorinated polyethylene by dynamic vulcanization method wherein the vulcanizate contains about 30 to 70 % polyurethane and about 70 to 30 % chlorosulfonated polyethylene or a mixture of chlorosulfonated polyethylene and chlorinated polyethylene wherein the ratio of chlorosulfonated polyethylene to chlorinated polyethylene is about 3 : 1 to 1 : 3 . the compounds are extruded to a tight tolerance tube , braided with or without adhesive to get proper adhesion and then covered with the same or different composition tpv using the same base materials . the hoses are then cut into desired length , formed internally or externally by heating the fixture in a continuous line passing through an oven , and cooling the fixture by a suitable method , preferably by dipping or spraying using cold water . although the invention has been described and exemplified herein with respect to the preferred embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments , and that variations can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

fig1 illustrates an overall view of a mammal stunning device of the present invention . in particular , the present figure shows an interior side view of the an animal stunning apparatus . more particularly , the fig1 shows a hog stunning embodiment where the front most side panel has been removed so that the internal components can be illustrated . accordingly , the hogs 14 enter a passageway 18 as shown by arrow 22 . the passageway 18 has a floor 26 , side panels 30 ( only one such panel being shown in this figure ), and a ceiling 34 . note that the floor 26 preferably changes from initially being substantially horizontal to an incline portion 36 and subsequently to another substantially horizontal portion 40 . when the hogs 14 enter the passageway 18 , the side panels 30 are such that the passageway 18 has a width between the side panels that require the hogs entering the passageway to remain in single file , one behind the other . further , note that the side panels 30 may be adjustable depending on the size of the hogs ( or other mammals ). there can be numerous mechanisms for adjusting the width between the side panels 30 as one skilled in the art will appreciate . for example , mechanical , pneumatic or hydraulic mechanisms can be used to perform this function and all such modifications should be understood to be within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , referring to fig3 wherein an end view ( along line - of - sight arrows labeled 3 in fig1 ) is provided , the side panels 30 are urged inwardly by , for example , pneumatic cylinder assemblies 44 having a shaft extension 48 for urging the side panels 30 toward one another . referring again to fig1 when the hogs 14 reach the horizontal portion of the floor 40 , the hogs 14 are required to straddle a hog belly support partition 52 ( also shown in fig3 ). accordingly , as the hogs 14 are urged to progress further along the horizontal portion 40 , the hog belly support partition 52 supports the hogs 14 effectively for further moving them through the pathway 18 . in particular , the hog belly support partition 52 has an endless track 56 upon which the hogs 14 are at least partially supported , and which rotates according to direction arrows 60a , b , c , d . that is , the endless track 56 rotates about the two cogged wheels 64 and 68 , wherein cogged wheel 64 is generally the drive wheel and the cogs 72 mate with cog recesses within the interior of endless track 56 . note that when the endless track 56 is traveling in the direction of arrow 60b , it is supported by a plurality of support rollers 76 for thereby assuring that the endless track is appropriately supported when traveling in the direction of arrow 60b . as the hogs 14 proceed further into the passageway 18 having the horizontal floor portion 40 , the hog &# 39 ; s head encounters a sequence of electrodes having at least a portion thereof in a solid state ( as opposed to a liquid or gas state ). in particular , the hog &# 39 ; s head encounters a sequence of stunning paddles 80 that are pivotally attached on pivot bars 84 ( best shown in fig2 and 3 ) so that each paddle 80 is capable of pivoting freely about its corresponding pivot bar 84 and thereby capable of being moved when encountered by the hog &# 39 ; s head . further note that the stunning paddles 80 are spaced apart approximately no further than the length of the hog &# 39 ; s head along the length of the passage 18 . thus , this assures that stunning through the hog &# 39 ; s head will continuously occur even though the electrical stunning current flows through successively different paddles 80 as the hog moves through the passageway 18 . the stunning paddles 80 are provided with an electrical potential suitable for stunning hogs . such electrical potential can be adjusted for effectively stunning other animals such as cattle and sheep . moreover , other electrodes are within the scope of the present invention . for example , alternative embodiments for the electrodes of the sequence of electrodes may include suspended chains or other segmented or flexible objects that allow a portion of the electrode to properly contact the hog &# 39 ; s head for inducing a stunning current therethrough . in one embodiment , the stunning paddles 80 are provided with an electrical potential when rotated a sufficient angle about its corresponding pivot bar 84 so that there is likely to be effective contact with the hog &# 39 ; s head prior to current activation . accordingly , as the hog &# 39 ; s head encounters each successive one of the stunning paddles 80 , an electrical current may be induced to flow through the hog &# 39 ; s head , thereby stunning the hog . note that for the current to flow through the hog from the stunning paddles 80 , an additional complementary one or more circuit completing electrodes are required . accordingly , in one embodiment , a single elongate additional electrode 88 ( dashed in fig1 ) is provided for continuously contacting , for example , the shoulder portion 92 of each hog 14 when the hog &# 39 ; s head sequentially contacts the paddles 80 . sequencing of the electrical current prevents the current from passing through the ham and loin where the most expensive meat is located . sequencing also makes it possible to maintain an uninterrupted flow of electricity from an electrode assembly that does not travel with the animal &# 39 ; s movement . both research and practical experience has shown that stopping and starting the current flow during the stun will increase hemorrhages in the meat . thus , the stunning electrical current flows between the hog &# 39 ; s head and the shoulder portion 92 during the stunning operation . note that the flow of current through the hog according to the present invention reduces the damage to the hog in comparison to other pathways for stunning current through hogs . in particular , it is believed that such electrical paths as provided by the present invention reduce tissue damage because automatic sequencing of the electrical current makes it possible to maintain an uninterrupted current flow from a series of either stationary or pivoting or spring loaded electrodes which do not move with the animal throughout the stunning process . passage of the electrical current through the front section of the hog may reduce meat damage by avoiding the application of electricity to the most valuable parts of the hog carcass . note that the additional electrode 88 is shown in fig3 as attached to one of the side panels 30 for thereby pressing against the shoulder of a hog . other embodiments , however , are also within the scope of the present invention . in particular , reference is made to fig2 which shows a top view of a portion of the passageway 18 having stunning paddles 80 positioned therein . in particular , the present figure shows an embodiment of an additional one or more electrodes 88 that protrude from a side panel 30 into the passageway 80 for thereby contacting the hog 14 . in particular , these electrodes 88 may be provided in an electrode sequence assembly 89 as is illustrated , for example , in fig5 wherein the electrodes 88 are spaced apart along a hog 14 contacting face 91 , and wherein the electrodes 88 are electrically separated by a dielectric material such as a high molecular weight plastic . note that this electrode assembly 89 may be spring biased toward the interior of the passage 18 . alternatively , various other mechanical , pneumatic , and / or hydraulic assemblies may be provided for contacting the shoulder of a hog 14 in substantially the same place with one or more additional circuit - completing electrodes 88 . moreover , in another embodiment ( fig2 ), there is a single additional electrode 88 that is operatively ( e . g . pivotally ) attached to a housing 96 ( at pivot point 114 ), wherein the housing 96 provides the ability for the electrode 88 to move synchronously with the hog 14 to which it is in contact up to a predetermined point and then rotates away from the hog after stunning so that the hog is easily disengaged from the electrode 88 . in particular , the housing 96 is slidable along a rail 100 adjacent to the pathway 18 . further , the housing 96 is attached to an air cylinder assembly 104 for retracting the housing 96 and its attached electrode 88 to a position for providing an electrical current flow through a hog and the first stunning paddle 80 . that is , the electrode 88 is moved just upstream of the initial stunning paddle 80 encountered by a hog 14 so that the electrode 88 encounters the hog &# 39 ; s shoulder while the first stunning paddle 80 contacts the hog &# 39 ; s head . additionally , note that attached to the housing 96 and the electrode 88 is a electrode retract cylinder 108 for rotatably retracting the electrode 88 from contact with the hog 14 . in particular , because the electrode retract cylinder 108 has an extendable shaft 112 attached to the rotatable electrode shaft at an opposite end from the electrode 88 so that when the extendable shaft is extended , the rotatable electrode shaft 90 rotates clockwise about a pivot point 114 , the electrode 88 is allowed to move away from the hog 14 as shown by the dotted silhouette of the electrode shaft 90 in its rotated position away from the hog . accordingly , by initially positioning the electrode 88 so that it can contact the hog &# 39 ; s shoulder throughout the process of the hog &# 39 ; s head reiteratively contacting the stunning paddles 80 , an electrical path through the hog &# 39 ; s head and shoulder is provided between the electrode 88 and each successive stunning paddle 80 since the electrode 88 can move along with the hog 14 to the extent that rail 100 allows such movement . thus , the electrical paths through the hog 14 go through a substantially same part of the hog &# 39 ; s shoulder adjacent to the electrode 88 &# 39 ; s contact therewith . note that this is particularly advantageous since any damage to the meat of the hog due to the electrical paths is localized between the head of the hog and the point - of - contact of the electrode 88 . note that this is advantageous because the electrode 88 remains in contact with substantially the same portion of the hog &# 39 ; s shoulder throughout the stunning process , and thus , the electrical stunning currents through the hog are likely to only damage tissue that is between the stunning paddle 80 contact of the hog &# 39 ; s head and the shoulder portion of the hog contacted by the electrode 88 . it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of stunning animals in a manner that reduces damage to valuable meat portions of the animal . fig4 shows an alternative embodiment of a stunning paddle ( labeled 80a in this figure ). this stunning paddle is different from that of the stunning paddle 80 of , for example fig3 in that the paddle 80 of fig3 is substantially a single sheet of conductive metal such as aluminum or steel , whereas the stunning paddle 80a of fig4 includes at least one central portion 120 that is electrically conductive , and a dielectric portion 124 that prevents electrical current from flowing therethrough . accordingly , the stunning paddle 80a is capable of providing a stunning current when the hog &# 39 ; s head contacts the center portion 120 , and if the paddle extends low enough into the passageway 18 so that the free ends 128 slide upon the back of a hog 14 as it moves past the pivot bar 84 for the stunning paddle , then the dielectric portion 124 prevents electrical stunning currents from entering the hog when the paddle is contacting the hog &# 39 ; s back . thus , an electrical potential can be maintained on each of the center portions 120 of the stunning paddles 80a by a substantially direct current without any switching electronics . the stunning process of the present embodiment has particularly simple electronics in that there is no need for electrical switches to activate and deactivate electrical potential to the stunning paddles 80a . the foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . further , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . consequently , variation and modification commensurate with the above teachings , within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art , are within the scope of the invention . the embodiment described hereinabove is further intended to explain the best mode currently known of practicing the invention , and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as such or in other embodiments , and with the various modifications required by their particular application or uses of the invention . it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art .

0Human Necessities

the present invention provides improved dielectric systems and methods of their fabrication in which many quality concerns and issues of dielectric systems are preferably concurrently satisfied . [ 0030 ] fig1 shows a gate dielectric stack 100 in accordance with the invention . stack 100 includes substrate 102 , gate dielectric 104 , passivated overlayer 106 , gate 108 , and gate electrode 110 . substrate 102 can be one or more semiconductor layers or structures which can include active or operable portions of semiconductor devices . generally , substrate 102 comprises silicon ( si ). gate 108 can comprise a degenerate heavily doped polysilicon , a metal , or other conductive material . gate dielectric 104 , which can also be referred to as gate insulator 104 , includes a single phase stoichiometrically - uniform - composition material having a high dielectric constant ( e . g ., k ≧ 10 ) or a silicon or transition - metal doped derivative thereof . a single phase stoichiometrically uniform material includes a single material having a consistently precise number of atoms and bonds in a molecule of the material . a transition metal dopant of gate dielectric 104 may be zirconium , tungsten , hafnium , titanium , tantalum , or other suitable transition metal . in particular , gate dielectric 104 is preferably stoichiometric alumina ( al 2 o 3 ), which has a k value in the range of about 11 to about 12 . alumina is oxidized aluminum , a metal which can be deposited one atomic layer at a time to form ultra thin metal films ( e . g ., less than about 3 nm ). these metal films are subsequently oxidized in ultra pure oxygen or ozone plasma to produce stoichiometric alumina . alternatively , gate dielectric 104 can be a composite such as silicon - doped alumina or transition - metal - doped alumina , each typically having a k & gt ; 15 . a high k dielectric permits greater scalability of a dielectric stack . scalability of a dielectric stack refers to the ability to reduce the size of the stack . smaller dielectric stacks preferably allow , among other things , more transistors to be fabricated on an integrated circuit chip , thus allowing more functionality on that chip . greater scalability of the area occupied by the stack is possible because a high k gate dielectric has a higher dielectric capacitance per unit area ( c d ) for a fixed dielectric thickness ( t d ) than a lower k dielectric material , such as traditionally used silicon dioxide ( k ≈ 4 ). this is shown in the relationship c d ∝ k / t d . a higher dielectric capacitance per unit area corresponds to a higher capacity to store charge , which can compensate for the storage capacity characteristically lost when the area of a dielectric device or system is scaled . moreover , because drive current is directly proportional to dielectric capacitance in metal - oxide - semiconductor field effect transistors ( mosfets ), the increased dielectric capacitance per unit area provided by a high k dielectric provides increased drive current . drive current can be generally defined as the current flowing through induced channel 118 from drain electrode 120 to source electrode 122 when , in the presence of sufficient potential between drain electrode 120 and source electrode 122 , a voltage equal to or greater than the threshold voltage of the mosfet device is applied to the gate . a low k dielectric material in gate dielectric 104 may not provide sufficient drive current , even when the thickness of gate dielectric 104 is scaled . thus , to provide sufficient drive current , a high k dielectric is often required . the scalability of high k gate dielectric 104 is but one consideration when evaluating the quality of a dielectric system . because gate dielectric 104 forms interface 112 with substrate 102 , the gate dielectric material should also be chemically compatible with the substrate material . alumina , when used as gate dielectric 104 , is chemically compatible with a silicon substrate 102 . however , the combination of the two materials does not inherently provide a stoichiometric interface at interface 112 . during device fabrication , hydroxide ions can cause undesirable and nonstoichiometric formation of alumino - silicate ( al x si y o z ) at interface 112 . the hydroxide ions may be absorbed into a silicon substrate or plate in the form of si x o y h z and may be naturally present due to exposure of the substrate or plate to open air or to ambient hydroxide . alumino - silicate formed at interface 112 can have an undesirably lower k value than the stoichiometric alumina gate dielectric , producing an undesirably lower effective k value for the dielectric stack . moreover , known fabrication methods may result in uncontrollable and incomplete alumino - silicate bonding at interface 112 . incomplete bonding at interface 112 can cause an undesirable accumulation of fixed negative charge at interface 112 . this may result in an undesirable increase in the threshold voltage of the device . in particular , dangling atoms from the dielectric material of gate dielectric 104 ( i . e ., atoms that have not formed bonds ) and from substrate 102 may contribute to the undesirable fixed interface charge accumulation at interface 112 . passivated overlayer 106 advantageously prevents dopant used in gate 108 from readily diffusing through high k gate dielectric 104 to form bonds at interface 112 . this dopant diffusion phenomenon may be especially evident at high temperatures common during device fabrication . for example , as shown in fig2 the combination of a phosphorus - doped silicon gate 208 deposited directly upon alumina gate dielectric 204 causes the formation of an alumino - phospho - silicate layer 203 at interface 212 . interface 212 may have originally been less of an uncorrupted interface between gate dielectric 204 and silicon substrate 202 before high temperature fabrication caused phosphorous dopant diffusion through gate dielectric 204 . alumino - phospho - silicate layer 203 may contribute to negative charge buildup ( q i ) at interface 212 . the known device of fig2 generally has a fixed q i ≈ 3e + 13 ( i . e ., that is q i ≈ 3 × 10 13 ) fundamental charge units per cm 2 . one fundamental charge unit is equal to about 1 . 60218e - 19 coulombs . as described above , a fixed charge accumulation in the dielectric material undesirably causes an increase in the threshold voltage . because dopant diffusion through gate dielectric 204 may be uncontrollable , formation of alumino - phospho - silicate layer 203 may be uncontrollable . consequently , the negative charge at interface 212 , and the threshold voltage of any device that uses this known stack , may be uncontrollable and may undesirably vary from device to device . alumino - phospho - silicate layer 203 may also have a lower k value than that of gate dielectric 204 . this causes an undesirable lowering of the effective k value of the dielectric stack . again , this would adversely affect at least one of the advantages of having a high k value , namely scalability . returning to fig1 passivated overlayer 106 forms chemically inert interface 114 with gate 108 and forms chemically inert interface 116 with gate dielectric 104 . a chemically inert interface is an interface at which no substantial bonding occurs between the materials forming the interface . passivated overlayer 106 preferably provides high temperature chemical passivity in dielectric stack 100 . in particular , passivated overlayer 106 prevents diffusion of dopant from gate 108 through gate dielectric 104 , which would subsequently corrupt interface 112 and lower the effective k value of the stack . passivated overlayer 106 thus prevents additional fixed charge formation . consequently , the combination of the contaminant protection of passivated overlayer 106 and the stoichiometry of interface 112 provides a reduced interface charge in the device of fig1 . stack 100 advantageously has a fixed q i approximately ≦ 3e + 10 fundamental charge units per cm 2 , which is significantly less than the typical fixed interface charge of known devices of q i ≈ 3e + 13 fundamental charge units per cm 2 . in addition , passivated overlayer 106 preferably provides uniformity in the dielectric breakdown voltage limit of the dielectric stack . the contaminant protection provided by passivated overlayer 106 prevents local ( i . e ., geometrically small ) defects in gate dielectric 104 that contribute to a lower dielectric breakdown voltage . moreover , in the absence of passivated overlayer 106 , uncontrollable dopant diffusion into gate dielectric 104 may likely result in an undesirably uncontrollable and varying threshold voltage . further , passivated overlayer 106 preferably provides uniform injection of either electrons or holes from gate 108 into gate dielectric 104 when a voltage is applied to gate electrode 110 . the injection of electrons or holes corresponds respectively to either an n - type or p - type gate 108 . passivated overlayer 106 thus improves reliability and uniformity in gate dielectric stack 100 . passivated overlayer 106 is preferably “ injector ” silicon - rich - nitride ( srn ), which is an srn with a refractive index of about 2 . 5 or greater , and preferably has a thickness in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 3 . 0 nm . injector srn can be characterized as a two phase insulator consisting of uniformly distributed silicon nano crystals in a body of stoichiometric nitride . a refractive index of about 2 . 5 or greater provides passivated overlayer 106 with a dielectric constant comparable to or greater than that of a high k gate dielectric 104 . particularly , injector srn has a dielectric constant that is greater than or equal to 12 , which is the k value of silicon . thus , the benefits of a high k gate dielectric 104 , as described above , are not canceled by the addition of passivated overlayer 106 . alternatively , passivated overlayer 106 can be an srn with a refractive index of less than about 2 . 5 ; however , a maximum k and the benefits associated therewith in a dielectric stack are achieved when the refractive index is greater than about 2 . 5 . [ 0045 ] fig3 illustrates the relationship between the refractive indices and dielectric constants k of injector srn . as shown , injector srn with a refractive index of about 2 . 5 or greater provides a k value greater than about 12 , which is the dielectric constant of silicon . [ 0046 ] fig4 shows a storage dielectric stack 400 in accordance with the invention . stack 400 includes bottom plate 402 , storage dielectric 404 , passivated overlayer 406 , and top plate 408 . bottom plate 402 and top plate 408 can be a degenerate heavily doped silicon , a doped polysilicon material , a metal , or other conductive material . storage dielectric 404 is preferably the same material as that of gate dielectric 104 , namely alumina or a doped derivative of alumina . as previously described , alumina is oxidized aluminum , a metal which can be deposited in ultra thin metal films ( e . g ., less than about 3 nm ) and subsequently oxidized in ultra pure oxygen or ozone plasma to produce stoichiometric is alumina . a high k dielectric value ( e . g ., k ≧ 10 ) in storage dielectric 404 provides a higher storage capacity , which is advantageous in memory devices such as drams ( dynamic random access memories ). high storage capacity in high k dielectrics results from the high capacitance per unit area provided by high k dielectrics , as previously described . passivated overlayer 406 is preferably the same material as that of passivated overlayer 106 , namely injector srn or srn , and preferably serves the same or similar purposes in the stack . in particular , passivated overlayer 406 prevents diffusion of dopant from top plate 408 through storage dielectric 404 . passivated overlayer 406 provides uniform injection of electrons or holes from top plate 408 into storage dielectric 404 during voltage stress and provides uniform dielectric breakdown in storage dielectric 404 . passivated overlayer 406 preferably has the same range of thickness ( i . e ., about 0 . 5 to about 3 nm ) and refractive index ( i . e ., 2 about 2 . 5 ) as passivated overlayer 106 . the fixed charge ( q i ) at interface 412 is advantageously about the same as in gate dielectric stack 100 , namely q i approximately ≦ 3e + 10 units of fundamental charge per cm 2 . [ 0049 ] fig5 shows an integrated circuit device 500 using the dielectric stacks of the invention . device 500 is an embodiment of a deep trench storage capacitor dram cell that includes embodiments of the gate and storage dielectric stacks of the invention . storage ( capacitor ) dielectric stack 501 includes bottom plate / substrate 502 , storage dielectric 504 , passivated overlayer 506 , and top plate 508 . a logic data bit is written into storage dielectric stack 501 via bit line 510 when sufficient voltage is applied to bit line 510 and the voltage at word line 512 ( i . e ., at the gate electrode ) rises above the threshold voltage of gate dielectric stack 100 . conversely , a logic data bit is read from storage dielectric stack 501 via bit line 510 when insufficient voltage is applied to bit line 510 and the voltage at word line 512 rises above the threshold voltage of gate dielectric stack 100 . oxide 514 , oxide 516 , and oxide 518 isolate storage dielectric stack 501 . improved device characteristics of device 500 are obtained from gate dielectric stack 100 and storage dielectric stack 501 . for example , stoichiometric interface 112 provides a desirable lower threshold voltage for performing both read and write operations . also , the improved charge storage capacity of storage dielectric stack 501 enhances memory capacity and reliability . similarly , fig6 shows another embodiment of an improved dram capacitor device using the dielectric stacks of the invention . device 600 is a stacked capacitor dram cell that includes gate dielectric stack 100 and storage ( capacitor ) dielectric stack 601 in accordance with the invention . storage dielectric stack 601 includes bottom plate 602 , storage dielectric 604 , passivated overlayer 606 , and top plate 608 . operation of device 600 is similar to that of device 500 . a logic data bit is written into storage dielectric stack 601 via bit line 610 when sufficient voltage is applied to bit line 610 and the voltage at word line 612 ( i . e ., at the gate electrode ) rises above the threshold voltage of gate dielectric stack 100 . conversely , a logic data bit is read from storage dielectric stack 601 via bit line 610 when insufficient voltage is applied at bit line 610 and the voltage at word line 612 rises above the threshold voltage of gate dielectric stack 100 . current flows through electrical contact 614 as storage dielectric stack 601 charges and discharges . the improved characteristics of device 600 are similar to those of is device 500 and are similarly obtained from the dielectric stacks of the invention . the gate and storage dielectric stacks of fig1 and 4 - 6 can be fabricated by the method shown in fig7 in accordance with the invention . process 700 begins at 702 by first preparing the silicon substrate or silicon bottom plate of a dielectric stack . native radical hydroxide ions ( oh − ) are removed from at least a portion of the surface of , for example , silicon substrate 102 or silicon bottom plate 402 . hydroxide ions may be present in bonds of silicon and silicon hydroxide ( si x o y h z ) that can form naturally in silicon exposed to open air or to ambient hydroxide . if not removed , these radical hydroxide ions may react with a metal - derived gate dielectric material and substrate material , or a metal - derived storage dielectric material and bottom plate material , to form nonstoichiometric bonding . for example , radical hydroxide ions may react with aluminum and silicon to form a nonstoichiometric al x si y o z material . the removal of oh − involves controllably introducing a hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) vapor in an ultra pure nitrogen bleed - in , while maintaining sufficient vacuum . generally , a vacuum of approximately less than about 10 − 6 torr is sufficient and can be maintained in a high vacuum chamber . next , at 704 , a single atomic layer of a metal is deposited on the prepared substrate or bottom plate . the metal is preferably aluminum , subsequently oxidized using a controlled amount of ultra pure oxygen or ozone plasma to form stoichiometric alumina at step 706 . oxidation may be followed by an appropriate anneal ( not shown ) to stabilize the dielectric stack . steps 704 and 706 are preferably repeated until a desired thickness of alumina is obtained . aluminum may be deposited by atomic layer deposition (“ ald ”), molecular bean epitaxy (“ mbe ”), electron beam evaporation , sputtering , or any other suitable method . this procedure should be performed in a vacuum or in a high partial pressure of dry nitrogen gas ( n 2 ) to ensure that no undesirable oh − ions are in the environment . next , at 708 , a passivated overlayer is deposited on the dielectric material . the passivated overlayer is preferably silicon - rich - nitride ( srn ) and is preferably deposited in a layer ranging from about 0 . 5 to about 3 . 0 nm in thickness . the srn preferably has a refractive index of ≧ 2 . 5 . passivated overlayer deposition can be accomplished by a low pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process with silane ( sih 4 ) or dichlorosilane ( sih 2 cl 2 ), ammonia ( nh 3 ), and nitrogen such that the ratio of sih 4 to nh 3 , or sih 2 cl 2 to nh 3 , is approximately ≧ 15 . this ratio regulates the amount and distribution of each phase of the silicon - rich - nitride , namely the amount and distribution of the silicon nitride insulator ( si 3 n 4 ) and either crystalline or amorphous silicon ( si ) particles . the ratio of sih 2 cl 2 to nh 3 has been found to be directly proportional to the refractive index of the resulting srn material , as shown in fig8 . thus , control of the sih 2 cl 2 / nh 3 ratio is important . for example , a sih 2 cl 2 / nh 3 ratio of 15 produces a srn material with a refractive index of approximately 2 . 5 , a value that ensures a k & gt ; 12 . as noted previously , a deposited srn material should preferably have a k value similar to that of the high k dielectric material , such that the advantages of the high k dielectric material are not canceled out by a passivated overlayer with a low k value . returning to fig7 the dielectric stack may then be stabilized by a rapid thermal anneal in nitrogen at 710 . a gate and gate electrode , or top plate , are deposited at 712 , depending on whether a gate dielectric stack or a storage dielectric stack is being fabricated . if a storage capacitor is being fabricated , step 708 can be optionally eliminated . that is , a passivated overlayer may not need to be included in a storage dielectric stack fabricated in accordance with the invention . process 700 without 708 may be sufficient to achieve an improved storage capacitor stack . however , a passivated overlayer in a storage dielectric stack provides a preferably maximum achievable k value and consequently higher storage capacity . in another embodiment of a method to fabricate dielectric stacks in accordance with the invention , 704 involves depositing metal to a desired thickness and then subsequently oxidizing the entire thickness in a controlled manner to form the desired stoichiometric dielectric material . for example , aluminum may first be deposited to the desired thickness and then oxidized to form stoichiometric alumina . [ 0057 ] fig9 shows yet another embodiment of a method to fabricate improved dielectric stacks in accordance with the invention . in process 900 , 704 and 706 of process 700 are replaced by 902 . at 902 , a dielectric material is deposited directly on a prepared substrate or bottom plate . the dielectric material if preferably alumina and may be deposited by mbe , sputtering , or any other suitable method . thus it is seen that improved gate and storage dielectric systems , and methods of their fabrication , are provided . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments , which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation , and the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow .

7Electricity

referring to fig5 which illustrates a fast - dump structure on a charge - coupled device ( ccd ) as envisioned by the present invention wherein the fast - dump gate ( fdg ) is fabricated by use of a third level polysilicon . comparing the present invention as seen in fig5 with the prior art device shown in fig1 the present invention employs a third level of polysilicon which allows the fdg to be placed directly against the electrodes into the horizontal shift register area where the width is still w 1 , thereby , not incurring the potential barriers or wells that occur with increasing width w 2 within the length l 2 that are found in the prior art devices such as those shown in fig1 . the reasons for this is that the length l 2 has been eliminated the fast - dump gate is an area within a charge - coupled device for removing charge from the charge - coupled device to a drain area . the present invention envisions employing a series of first level and second level polysilicon electrodes h 1 , h 2 used within a horizontal charge - coupled device ( hccd ) to form a two - phase device in a manner as shown in the prior art device of fig1 . however , the present invention envisions that the fast - dump gate be connected to the selected cells within the hccd via implementation of a third level polysilicon such that the third level polysilicon can overlap the first and second levels of polysilicon electrodes h 1 , h 2 without shorting them together . a drain is formed on the opposite side of the fast - dump gate that functions as the output node for charges that are to be dumped from the hccd via the fast - dump gate connection . prior art , fast - dump gates are typically used in the area of a horizontal ccd shift register to : ( 1 ) read out selected data from the horizontal ccd in a windowing function ; or ( 2 ) selectively dump lines of data from the horizontal shift register in sub - sampling modes . prior art devices employ structures as shown in fig1 with two levels of polysilicon to create the electrodes within the horizontal ccd . fig2 a is a cross sectional view of fig1 along the line aa with associated potential diagrams for cases where the effective channel width decreases as it approaches the fast - dump gate and the effective channel width increases as it approaches the fast - dump gate . the problem with these prior art devices is that as the effective w 2 increases , or decreases , the horizontal shift register approaches the fast - dump gate ( fdg ) yielding in many cases either a barrier ( fig2 b ) or a well ( fig2 c ) along the length l 2 . referring to fig4 which is a cross - sectional view of fig1 through the line cc and parallel to hccd through bottom part of h 1 showing second width , w 2 . the boron implants resulting in p + channel stops are illustrated as the identifying features for w 2 . the p + channel stops and the locos confine charge to the channel region of width w 2 existing between them . as clearly seen in fig4 taken in conjunction with fig1 the drawn width w 2 increases to compensate for the narrowing effect of the boron implants used to create channel stops possibly resulting in the potential barriers and wells as previously discussed . referring again to fig5 which is a top view of the present invention , a third level polysilicon ( poly 3 ) used in fabricating the fast - dump gate ( fdg ) eliminates the problem of matching effective channel widths to minimize wells or barriers at exit end of the h 1 cell of the horizontal charge - coupled device . it should be noted that there is no structure that is equivalent to the l 2 / w 2 region of fig1 . this is an important element within the context of the present invention . the effective channel length of the third level of polysilicon fdg gate is typically on the order of a couple of microns . its effective width is virtually infinite since it typically extends along the entire length of the hccd . it will readily apparent to those skilled within the relevant arts that the fdg could also be formed from a different polysilicon layer as long as there are three polysilicon layers . for example , the fdg layer could be made from poly 1 and the electrodes for h 1 and h 2 created by using poly 2 and poly 3 layers . referring to fig5 there is no equivalent structure to that shown in fig1 which results in the l 2 / w 2 region as seen in fig1 ( i . e ., w 1 is constant along the entire “ length ” of h 1 ), therefore there are no wells or barriers to impede charge flow during either fast - dump or hccd - readout operation . referring to fig6 a , which is a cross - section of fig5 through line aa parallel to hccd through the fast - dump gate ( fdg ) with an accompanying potential diagram as shown in fig6 b . the cross section shown in fig6 a appears similar to that shown in prior art device of fig2 a . looking at the potential diagram in fig6 b , however , compared to those of fig2 b and fig2 c , it is readily apparent that the barriers of fig2 b and wells of fig2 c do not exist in the potential diagram seen in fig6 b for the present invention . this is because the present invention does not have an equivalent l 2 - w 2 region and therefore , channel stops are not required . this ( by eliminating the l 2 - w 2 region ) is how the present invention eliminates the problems of potential wells and barriers of the prior art device . the region shown in fig7 is not equivalent to the l 2 - w 2 region of the prior art . it is equivalent to the br 2 a region under fdg as shown ( from the top ) in fig1 . this br 2 a region under fdg of fig1 is not shown in cross section by any of the drawings . there are no confining locos / p + channel stop regions in the present invention , as shown fig7 since they are not necessary . once charge enters the channel region under the fdg for the hccd ( in a fast - dump mode where the fdg would be “ on ”), it is destined to be drained off into the fast - dump drain , fdd . alternatively , when the fdg is sufficiently “ off ” during the hccd readout , the potential under the fdg is brought sufficiently low so as to completely isolate the charge in the hccd from the drain . introducing channel stops within this region would only result in the same problems developing in the prior art . fig7 is a cross section of fig5 taken along line bb . for all intensive purposes , the fdg has a virtually infinite width . it should be noted , that there are no confining implants such as channel stops in prior art . a br 2 a , or similar implant , is not a requirement in this region for the present invention , but may be desirable depending on the clock voltages used . that is , it was used to shift the channel potential to a more desirable level for a given clock voltage to insure that the fdg region is truly “ off ” relative to the potentials under the hccd phases so that charge does not inadvertently transfer into the fdg during hccd readout . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention .

7Electricity

the present invention as shown in fig1 - 6 is used in a bike wheel or any other wheels . however , the present invention can be used in any kinds of vehicle wheels and is not limited . a plurality of reflectors of the present invention may be fixed on each vehicle wheel . the present invention comprises : a rotor disk 2 detachably rotatably mounted on a spoke 1 of a vehicle wheel 10 such as a bike wheel ; a limiting retainer 5 detachably secured on the spoke 1 for limiting the rotor disk 2 on the spoke 1 ; the rotor disk 2 including a retroreflective surface 3 formed on a first surface of the rotor disk 2 capable of reflecting any incident light projecting onto the retroreflective surface 3 for forming a bright surface on the first surface of the rotor disk 2 , a light - absorptive surface 4 formed on a second surface of the rotor disk 2 opposite to the first surface , capable of absorbing incoming lights projecting onto the light - absorptive surface 4 for forming a dark surface , a first blade 22 circumferentially formed on a first semi - peripheral edge portion of the rotor disk 2 and protruding outwardly in a first direction from the retroreflective surface 3 to be generally perpendicular to the retroreflective surface 3 , and a second blade 23 circumferentially formed on a second semi - peripheral edge portion of the rotor disk 2 and protruding outwardly in a second direction from the light - absorptive surface 4 to be generally perpendicular to the light - absorptive surface 4 and opposite to the first blade 22 by an angle of 180 degrees ; whereby upon a driving rotation of the vehicle wheel 10 , the rotor disk 2 will face a wind or air force a and will be rotated about a longitudinal axis 100 existing in each spoke 1 to first orient the bright surface of the retroreflective surface 3 frontwardly for reflecting lights frontwardly and then subsequently orient the dark surface of the light - absorptive surface 4 frontwardly to cause a flashing operation of the rotor disk 2 . each blade 22 or 23 just occupies one half of the perimeter of the rotor disk 2 to cause an inbalance condition of the whole disk when subjected to a wind force , so that the blade 22 or 23 of the disk 2 will &# 34 ; catch &# 34 ; the wind to force the disk 2 to rotate about the axis 100 . the limiting retainer 5 is adjustably mounted on the spoke 1 to be restricted in between a wheel rim 11 of the vehicle wheel 10 and a hub 12 on an axle of the vehicle wheel 10 . the rotor disk 2 includes a pair of bushings 21 disposed on two opposite or diametrical ends of the rotor disk 2 , each bushing 21 being detachably secured to each spoke 1 . the bushing 21 of the rotor disk 2 is formed with a shaft hole 211 for rotatably engaging a spoke 1 which serves as a shaft member for rotating the rotor disk 2 about the spoke 1 , a bushing taper notch 212 radially tapered towards the shaft hole 211 from a peripheral edge portion of the bushing 21 to define a throat portion 212a having a width slightly smaller than a diameter of each spoke 1 so that each rotor disk 2 can be snapped and secured on the spoke 1 by smoothly inwardly feeding the spoke 1 along the bushing taper notch 212 until engaging the shaft hole 211 of each bushing 21 with the spoke 1 for stably holding the bushing 21 and the rotor disk 2 on the spoke , without requiring any tool or instrument , for conveniently quickly mounting each rotor disk 2 on each spoke . the limiting retainer 5 is generally disk shaped or circular - disk shaped , and is formed with a central hole 51 snugly engageable with the spoke 1 , and a retainer taper notch 52 tapered radially inwardly from a peripheral edge portion of the retainer 5 towards the central hole 51 defining a retainer throat portion 521 having a width smaller than a diameter of the spoke 1 for a sturdy fixation of the retainer 5 on the spoke 1 . the retainer 5 and rotor disk 2 may be made with plastic or other materials . the dark light - absorptive surface 4 on the rotor disk 2 may be formed with any dark or black color or mixed colors of darkness , not limited in this invention . in using the present invention , the bike wheel 10 is rotated in a forward direction f to allow each rotor disk 2 to face an incoming wind or air force a to thereby rotate the rotor disk 2 about each longitudinal axis 100 of the spoke 1 to cause a flashing operation for traffic warning purpose . during the bike running , the wheel 10 may be driven quicker or even slower depending upon the driver or rider &# 39 ; s treadling operation , road condition , slopes of the road , wind force and other factors . a quicker rotation of the wheel may thrust the rotor disk 2 radially outwardly towards the rim 11 due to larger centrifugal force by the rotating wheel 10 and a slower rotation of the wheel 10 may move the disk 2 downwardly due to lower centrifugal and gravitational force of the disk 2 , the interacting centrifugal force and gravitational force will therefore diversify many tracking shapes , circle , oval , or irregular &# 34 ; illuminative &# 34 ; rings t of the reflectors of this invention as shown in fig6 especially in night time and subjected to incident light exposure for enhancing traffic warning , decorative effect , and bike owner &# 39 ; s interest . the retainer 5 may be optionally adjusted on the spoke 1 for defining the movement of each rotor disk 2 for varying its circular or oval or other moving tracks . a retainer 5 positioned on the spoke 1 near the axle or hub 12 of the wheel 10 will have a more dynamic movement of the rotor disk 2 on the spoke 1 than a retainer 5 positioned on the spoke 1 approximate to the rim 11 of the wheel 10 , which can be variably adjusted according to the user &# 39 ; s options . the present invention may also be used on any other parts of a vehicle or movable device for flashing effect under wind pressure . the number , positioning , arrangements or installation of the retainers as well as the rotor disks 2 of this invention are not limited , which can be optionally designed or modified by a vehicle owner or user for diversified choices .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

an embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail hereinbelow . fig4 is a constructional block diagram of a processing system in the embodiment . an image scanner 1 is image input means for optically reading out an original image of a document serving as a recognition target . a method of inputting an image is not limited to such a method of optically reading an image by the image scanner or the like but it is also possible to input an image of a hand - written character inputted by input means such as digitizer , mouse , or the like which can input coordinates . a keyboard / mouse 5 is input means for inputting various commands or instructing information by the operator . a search word and a search condition at the time of the searching process are also inputted by the keyboard or mouse . a display 6 is display means such as crt or liquid crystal display for displaying the information inputted from the keyboard / mouse 5 , image information inputted from the image scanner 1 or the like , a progress of the processes , and a result of the process . an external storage 4 is storage means for storing image data , text information , and search file inputted from the image scanner . a computer 10 performs various kinds of information processes by a control of a cpu 10 - 1 . control programs of various kinds of information processes as shown in flowcharts , which will be described hereinlater , have been stored in a memory 10 - 2 . the cpu 10 - 1 executes and controls various processes in accordance with the control programs . a dictionary which is used for a character recognition has been also stored in the memory 10 - 2 . as a control program stored in the memory 10 - 2 , a control program which was read as necessary by external storage means or the like can be also used . in the embodiment , there are provided an ocr processor 2 and a document searcher 3 to execute main processes which are executed by the computer 10 and the embodiment will now be explained . a method of the character recognition is not limited to the ocr process , so long as a character is a hand - written character composed of strokes inputted by a digitizer , a mouse , or the like , it is sufficient to provide a processing unit for performing an on - line character recognition suitable for such a character . a process to convert image data of an original image inputted by the image scanner 1 or the like to text information is shown in a flowchart of fig1 and will now be described . the image data stored in the external storage 4 and inputted by the image scanner 1 or the like is inputted to the ocr processor 2 ( s1 ). a check is made to see if character data is included in the inputted image data or not ( s2 ). if yes , the image data of one character is extracted ( s3 ). the extracted one character is compared with the dictionary , thereby obtaining a plurality of character codes as recognition results and a likelihood lh as a similarity with dictionary data indicated by each character code ( s4 ). among the character codes obtained as recognition results in s4 , a maximum likelihood lh max is compared with a predetermined significance likelihood judgment threshold value th1 stored in the memory 10 - 2 ( s5 ). when the likelihood is equal to or larger than th1 , it is judged that the recognition result is correct and such one character code among the plurality of character codes is outputted as a recognition result ( s6 ). when the likelihood is smaller than th1 in s5 , in order to store a plurality of recognition results for image data of one character code , a delimiter is outputted as identification ( hereinbelow , referred to as an id ) information ( s7 ). in s8 , the processing routine advances to s9 or s11 in accordance with a mode designated by the operator or a mode set by the system or the likelihood obtained in s4 . in s9 , among the plurality of likelihoods obtained in s4 , a character code corresponding to the likelihood larger than a predetermined low recognition likelihood judgment threshold value th2 stored in the memory 10 - 2 is outputted as a result corresponding to the image data of one character code . in s11 , among the plurality of character codes obtained in s4 , the character codes of the number nmax of maximum recognition candidates are sequentially outputted in accordance with the order from the character code having the largest likelihood as a result corresponding to the image data of one character code . when the result corresponding to the image data of one character code is outputted , a delimiter is outputted as id information indicative of the end of the result of the characters ( s10 ). when the recognition of the image data of one character code and the output of the result are finished , the processes in s3 to s11 are repeated while updating the image data serving as a target until it is judged in s2 that no remaining character data is included . such code information outputted in s6 to s11 is sequentially stored as text information into the external storage 4 . by such processes , a situation such that the recognition results are narrowed to one in the case where an ocr recognition likelihood is low and there is no confidence in the recognition is avoided , a plurality of optimum recognition candidates corresponding to the recognition likelihoods can be selected , and the effective recognition candidate information can be effectively stored and used without abandoning it . a search file forming process in case of instructing to form a search file so that the text information stored by the above processes can be used for a search hereinlater is shown in a flowchart of fig2 and will be described . in case of instructing to form the search file for the text information stored in the external storage 4 , a type of character key for index when the designated text data is registered to the search file is designated ( s21 ). the designated text information is loaded from the external storage 4 to the document searcher 3 ( s22 ). data of one character code is read out from the loaded text information ( s24 ). when it is judged that the character code indicates a delimiter ( s25 ), a plurality of candidates up to the next delimiter are combined with the character train so far , thereby developing a plurality of character keys . when it is judged that the character code doesn &# 39 ; t indicate a delimiter in s25 , such one character code is added to the character train of the character key at its end ( s27 ). the processes in s25 to s27 are repeated until the completion of the character key is judged in s28 . when it is judged that the character key is completed in s28 , the formed character key ( single or plural ) is added to the index information in the search file in the external storage 4 ( s29 ). the processes in s24 to s29 are repeated until all of the character data is processed in s23 , thereby completing the formation of the search file of the loaded text information . by such processes , a plurality of recognition candidate characters are combined with characters before and after those characters from the text information obtained by recognizing the input image and the character train is developed in accordance with the type of character key of the index to be used , thereby previously forming an index . therefore , it is possible to reduce a leakage of the search due to the error recognition . a searching process which is executed by using the search file formed as mentioned above is shown in a flowchart of fig3 and will now be described . a search word is inputted in accordance with an instruction of the searching process ( s31 ). the input search word is analyzed into a search key suitable for the searching process ( s32 ). the search key is compared with the search file in the external storage 4 ( s33 ). when an index that is matched with the search key is found , document address information corresponding to such an index is returned to the application side ( s34 ). the image data specified by the document address information and stored in the external storage 4 is displayed as a search result to the display 6 . a flowchart of fig5 shows processes such that characters are combined with the characters before and after the recognition candidate character group from the text information and developed every time the searching process is instructed , thereby comparing with the inputted search word without previously forming the search file . in case of instructing to form the search file for the text information stored in the external storage 4 , a type of character key for the index when the instructed text data is registered to the search file is designated ( s41 ) and a search word is inputted ( s42 ). the inputted search word is analyzed to the search key suitable for the searching process ( s43 ). the instructed text information is loaded to the document searcher 3 from the external storage 4 ( s44 ). data of one character is read out from the loaded text information ( s46 ). when it is judged that the character code indicates the delimiter ( s47 ), a plurality of candidates up to the next delimiter and the character train so far are combined , thereby developing a plurality of character keys . when it is judged that no delimiter is included in s47 , such one character is added to the character train of the character key at its end ( s49 ). the processes in s47 to s49 are repeated until it is judged that the character key is completed in s50 . when it is judged that the character key has been completed in s50 , the formed character key ( single or plural ) and the search key obtained in s43 are compared ( s51 ). when they are identical ( s52 ), a document address in which the image data of the document is stored as a search result is outputted ( s53 ). as for the data base , a plurality of records are also formed by processes similar to the above processes , so that it is possible to search with little leakage by using the data base . it is now assumed that a sentence such as &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; was included in a document . it is now assumed that when the above sentence is inputted by the image scanner 1 and &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; is recognized in an initial recognition step s4 by the ocr processor 2 , the recognition likelihood for such a character is smaller than th1 in spite of the fact that the recognition likelihoods of the other characters are equal to or larger than th1 . it is further assumed that the recognition candidates have similar likelihoods smaller than th2 . as a result , the process in s11 is selected in s8 and nmax candidates are sequentially outputted in accordance with the order from the candidate having a high likelihood . it is assumed that four candidates &# 34 ; i &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; t &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; y &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; are consequently outputted . the ocr processor 2 describes the above plurality of candidate characters in the following format . in this instance , when the delimiter to be outputted in s7 and s10 assumes &# 34 ;★&# 34 ;, the following format is obtained . ★ the number of candidates ! candidate character 1 ! candidate character 2 ! candidate character 3 !★ therefore , the above four candidates are outputted in correspondence to &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; in the example and it is judged that the likelihoods of the other characters are larger than th1 in s5 . an expression of &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; in the case where one character of the largest likelihood is outputted as a candidate character in s6 is as follows . such a character code group is stored as text information to the external storage 4 . on the other hand , the document searcher 3 interprets the format and forms a search file in accordance with the flowchart of fig2 . therefore , when the search word such as &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; is inputted from the keyboard and the document searcher 3 executes the document searching process in accordance with the search word , the document can be also searched . in the embodiment , although the example for use in the document search has been explained , the invention can be also applied to the search using the data base . the invention can be also applied to the extraction of a document key word , a page key word , or the like by the ocr . further , the invention can be also applied by a similar method to the case where the recognition likelihood of partial information of an optical reading apparatus by an omr or bar codes is low . according to the invention as described above , a situation such that in the case where the ocr recognition likelihood is low and it is not judged that the recognition is sure , the recognition candidate is narrowed to one is avoided , a plurality of optimum recognition candidates corresponded to the recognition likelihood are selected , and the effective recognition candidate information can be stored and effectively used without abandoning it . as described above , according to the invention , the manual correcting operation of the recognition result is eliminated , the processes from the image input to the storage of the image data and text data via the ocr can be performed without intervening the operator , a processing load of the apparatus can be reduced , a processing speed can be raised , and a cheap apparatus can be provided . as mentioned above , according to the invention , in the case where there are a plurality of recognition candidates for an input image of one character , characters are combined with the characters before and after such characters and they are developed and a plurality of indices are formed , so that a leakage of the search due to the error recognition can be reduced .

6Physics

in the following description , apparatus for annulus ring hole drilling and the like are set forth as preferred examples . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications , including additions and / or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention ; however , the disclosure is written to enable one skilled in the art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation . although the embodiments described in the following pertain to using compressed air as the force delivery medium , pressurized fluid , such as water , can be used in place of compressed air without substantial modification to the presently claimed invention . referring to fig1 . the side view of an annulus ring hole drill string 100 is shown in fig1 . in accordance with various embodiments , the annulus ring hole drill string includes a dth percussion hammer assembly 101 , one or more drill pipe 102 , a top pipe with exhaust openings 103 , an air distributor 104 , a rotary head connection interface 105 for connecting a rotary head 106 . the rotary head 106 provides rotational turning speed and output torque for the entire drill string 100 . rotary head 106 is equipped with intake swivel 107 where compressed air is supplied from an external source and delivered through an internal channel down to the rotary head connection interface 105 . other configurations of drill pipe , top pipe , and air distributor can be adopted . the number and total length of drill pipes 102 adopted depend on the required drilling depth of the annulus ring hole to be drilled . in some cases of shallow drilling , no drill pipe is necessary . compressed air supplied from the external source to the intake swivel 107 is delivered through the internal channel in the rotary head 106 and down to the rotary head connection interface 105 and through the internal channel in the rotary head connection interface 105 to the air distributor 104 below it . the air distributor 104 diverts the airflow into a number of separate air paths matching the number of dth percussion hammers employed in the dth percussion hammer assembly 101 . in this exemplary embodiment , five dth percussion hammers are employed . in this case , the air distributor 104 ends with five air passages ; each is further connected to an internal air - delivery pipe in the top pipe with exhaust openings 103 , to an internal air - delivery pipe in the drill pipe 102 , then to the respective dth percussion hammer . still referring to fig1 . during drilling , while the dth percussion hammers are impacting the ground , the entire drill string , including the air distributor 104 , the drill pipes 102 , and the front annulus ring drilling percussion hammer assembly 101 , is rotating , driven from the top by the rotary head . the rotary head provides the necessary turning torque for overcoming the drilling friction . the rotation axis is the centre of the annulus ring . therefore , the percussion and impacting actions provided by each drill bit combined with the continuous turning of the annulus ring drilling percussion hammers result in the complete smashing of the ground materials within the targeted annulus ring drilling area . referring to fig1 and 5 . as shown in fig5 , internal air - delivery pipes 501 are equipped from top end to bottom end of the top pipe with exhaust openings 103 , where it is further connected to the drill pipes 102 below . compressed air is delivered through the internal air - delivery pipes 501 in the top pipe with exhaust openings 103 , the internal air - delivery pipes in the drill pipes 102 , then reaches the top connection interface of the dth percussion hammer assembly 101 . at the top connection interface , the compressed air delivered from the internal air - delivery pipes in the drill pipes 102 is supplied to a receiving port at the top of back head of the dth percussion hammer assembly 101 . referring to fig1 and 4 . the back head is an annulus housing with a prescribed od and id . in the back head , the compressed air is directed through an air channel and presses the top adaptor of the dth percussion hammer , driving the reciprocal hammering action of the piston 402 . the piston 402 strikes on the drill bit 401 below transferring the hammering force , and in turn the drill bit impacts the ground . after each strike , the compressed air passes through the piston and is released out of the exhaust outlet located at the bottom of the drill bit . the exhausted compressed air simultaneously flushes away broken debris or rock particles , conveying them along both the inner and outer surfaces of the annulus ring structural housing 400 . the broken debris and rock particles that are flushed along the outer surface of the annulus ring structural housing 400 travel upwards along the drill pipes 102 and escape out on to the ground surface . whereas those that are flushed along the inner surface of the annulus ring structural housing 400 travel upwards along the drill pipes 102 , reach the top pipe with exhaust openings 103 , and escape through the exhaust openings out on to the ground surface . tie bolts are used to tie together the dth percussion hammer assembly 101 &# 39 ; s front section , main body , and the back head with nuts and lock nuts . when servicing the individual dth hammer or changing the drill bits , the tie bolts can be loosened or removed . other known methods of tying together the main elements of the annulus ring hole drilling percussion hammer assembly 101 should be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art . the top adaptors of the dth percussion hammers are located and housed in the back head at prescribed position and are screwed together with their corresponding dth percussion hammer body . the top adaptor is supported and retained in the back head housing by a pair of bit retaining rings . the chuck of each dth percussion hammer is mounted at its bottom and is of hexagonal outer sectional shape . the hexagonal chucks are located in place and housed in the front section of the dth percussion hammer assembly 101 . the hexagonal chucks have the advantage of enabling their corresponding hexagonal housing to withhold any torsion load experienced by the individual dth percussion hammer along its own longitudinal axis during drilling . it is , however , possible to use chucks of other shapes such as circular sectional chucks . the drilling od of the annulus ring hole is determined by the radius distance from the exterior gauge dimension of the specially sized drill bit to the centre of the annulus ring drilling structural housing 400 . the drilling id of the annulus ring hole is determined by the radius distance from the interior gauge dimension of the specially sized drill bit to and the centre of the annulus ring structural housing 400 . the drilling od of the annulus ring hole is designed to be larger than the od of the annulus ring dth percussion hammer assembly 101 and the drill pipes 102 . that is , the exterior gauge of the drill bit 401 is protruded away from the od of the annulus ring structural housing 400 . the drilling id of the annulus ring hole , on the other hand , is designed to be smaller than the id of the annulus ring dth percussion hammer assembly 101 and the drill pipes 102 . that is , the interior gauge of the drill bit 401 is protruded away from the id of the annulus ring structural housing 400 . the purpose of this arrangement is to reduce the drag resistance on the surface of the entire drill string as it advances deeper and deeper into the ground . depending on the requirement of the annulus ring hole , various allocation arrangements of the drill bits are possible . if the difference between the annulus ring hole od and id is small , one circumferential layer of drill bits is used . in one embodiment , one circumferential layer comprises five drill bits , which is shown in fig2 . for annulus ring holes with a large od - id difference , two to three circumferential layers of drill bits can be used to cover the large annulus ring drilling area as shown in fig7 . the front annulus ring percussion hammer assembly 101 shown in fig1 includes five air driven dth percussion hammers distributed and assembled over an annulus ring structural housing 400 . the structural housing 400 has a prescribed housing od and a prescribed housing id . the surfaces created by the housing od and housing id function as the flushing surfaces for exhaust air and drilling debris . the space between the housing od and id accommodates the dth percussion hammers of which the number and size are determined by the required annulus ring hole od and id . each dth percussion hammer is assembled longitudinally inside this housing space in parallel with the drilling axis of the drill string . all dth percussion hammers are held and supported by the housing along its longitudinal direction . referring to fig2 . each drill bit 202 is fixed in its position by its two adjacent index blocks 201 . the index blocks 201 prevent the drill bits 202 from self - turning along the axis of its corresponding dth percussion hammer . the index blocks 201 are specifically built to withstand the torque and thrust forces experienced by the drill bits 202 during the drilling process with the annulus ring drilling percussion hammer assembly rotating and each drill bit 202 impacting the ground . the indexing of each drill bit 202 also restricts it from self - turning so as to allow maximum possible ground impacting area on both the exterior protruding gauge and the interior protruding gauge at all time during drilling . referring to fig6 . in accordance with various embodiments , specially designed percussion drill bits with tungsten carbide tips 601 are mounted at the bottom of each drill bit . the drill bit has a special peripheral profile to achieve a larger percussion area on both the annulus od and id drilling areas . the drill bit cutting face profile is not necessary circular in shape , and can be triangular , rectangular , or any special profiled shape as shown in fig7 . the drill bit cutting face profile is designed to achieve maximum material smashing are on both the exterior protruding gauge and the interior protruding gauge . in accordance with various embodiments , pressurized fluid instead of compressed air can be used to drive the reciprocal hammering actions of the dth percussion hammers . in this case , pressurized fluid , instead of compressed air , is supplied through the intake swivel 107 in the rotary head 106 , delivered through fluid - delivery pipes in the top pipe 103 and the drill pipes 102 to each of the dth percussion hammers driving reciprocal hammering action during drilling . the foregoing description of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence .

4Fixed Constructions

the present invention is based at least in part on the clinical observation that the topical application of a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising at least one α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist to the skin is effective in significantly reducing or preventing the redness ( erythema ), flushing and sensation of warmth and discomfort which are hallmarks of rosacea and other conditions causing discreet erythema of the skin ( e . g . acne , sunburn ), and thus provides both subjective and objective relief of signs and symptoms of these conditions . prototypical α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists include phenylepherine and oxymetazoline , but other α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist agents include , but are not limited to naturally occurring and synthetically derived compounds based on or derived from pharmacologically similarly acting chemicals , drugs or prodrugs and derivatives thereof . examples of preferred compounds which are specifically contemplated as α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists suitable for use in accordance with the present invention include , but are not limit to e . g ., the α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists oxymetazoline , tetrahydrozoline , nephazoline , xylometazoline and the α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists discussed in chapters 6 and 10 of goodman and gilman &# 39 ; s the pharmacological basis of therapeutics , tenth edition , edited by hardman j and limbird l . new york , n . y ., mcgraw - hill , 2001 , which is hereby incorporated by reference as though set forth in full herein , and in particular phenylepherine methoxamine , mephentermine , metaraminol , desglymidodrine , and its prodrug midodrine . as no prior consideration of the application of α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist to the skin has been contemplated or reported , for any indication , little is known of the cutaneous absorption or toxicology of oxymetazoline used in this fashion . the manufacturers report no significant organ damage or general toxicity in dog , cat , rabbit or mouse about dosages close to those used in man . when administered by injection subcutaneously , in rabbits , no drug related abnormalities or effects on the offspring were found . in a retrospective study in man , no association was found between the drug and congenital disorders . no carcinogenicity tests have been reported . but oxymetazoline has been used intranasaly and ophthalmicaly for decades for reducing blood flow and diminishing of swelling of the mucosa and has not been reported to effect any systemic side effects . there is no formal data on the subject , however . the excellent safety and efficacy profile of oxymetazoline when used intranasaly or ophthalmicaly to effect local vasoconstriction suggested its potential use as a topically applied vasoconstrictor to the skin for the treatment of the erythema and telangiectasias of rosacea and other erythematous conditions of the skin and has been observed clinically by one of the applicants in his clinical practice of dermatology . the local anti - erythema effect is thus observed when topically applying an effective amount of an α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist , admixed with a skin - specific penetration enhancer and a pharmacologically acceptable vehicle for topical administration without causing any noticeable systemic effects . the clinical efficacy of the applied α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist compound is predicated not only upon the agent reaching the receptors , which are located within the skin on vascular smooth muscle , but also on the pharmacokinetics of each particular receptor agonist . thus the choice and concentration of the active agent , or combination of active agents , the topical delivery system and vehicle for the active agent ( s ) are significant considerations . specifically , prototypical α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists in the present invention are tetrahydrozoline and oxymetazoline , and when included in the typical embodiment as the sole active ingredient ( sole α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist ) are preferably used in amounts of about 0 . 05 % up to about 30 %, and preferably about 0 . 001 % up to about 3 % by weight based on the total weight of the composition . where both , or an additional or different α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist is admixed , lower amounts of the active compound ( s ) might be included . additionally , the carrier or vehicle of the invention will have dramatic effects on the concentrations of the active ingredients selected . the preferred embodiments employ active ingredients in amounts effective to achieve clinical efficacy without causing systemic side effects . the compositions according to the invention may comprise all pharmaceutical forms normally utilized for the topical route of administration and known to practitioners of this art including solutions , gels , lotions creams , ointments , foams , mousses , emulsions , microemulsions , milks , serums , aerosols , sprays , dispersions , microcapsules , vesicles and microparticles thereof . the subject compositions may also be formulated as solid preparations constituting soaps or cleansing bars . these compositions are formulated according to conventional techniques . the term “ pharmacologically / dermatologically acceptable carriers ”, as used herein , means that the carrier is suitable for topical application to the keratinous tissue , has good aesthetic properties , is compatible with the active agents of the present invention and any other components , and will not cause any untoward safety or toxicity concerns . the carrier can be in a wide variety of forms . for example , emulsion carriers , including , but not limited to , oil - in - water , water - in - oil , water - in - oil - in - water , and oil - in - water - in - silicon emulsions , are useful herein . as will be understood by the skilled artisan , a given component will distribute primarily into either the water or oil / silicon phase , depending on the water solubility / dispersibility of the component in the composition . a safe and effective amount of carrier is from about 50 % to about 99 . 999 %, more preferably from about 70 % to about 99 . 99 %. the composition , if desired , can contain various known bases such as excipients , binders , lubricants , and disintegrants . if desired , it can also contain oily materials such as various fats , oils , waxes , hydrocarbons , fatty acids , higher alcohols , ester oils , metallic soaps , animal or vegetable extracts , hydrophilic or lipophilic gelling agents , hydrophilic or lipophilic active agents , pharmaceutically effective components such as vitamins , hormones , amino acids , surfactants , colorants , dyes , pigments , fragrances , odor absorbers , antiseptics , preservatives , bactericides , humectants , thickeners , solvents , fillers , antioxidants , sequestering agents , sunscreens , or any other known components and additives as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired . examples of suitable oils includes mineral oils , plant oils such as peanut oil , sesame oil , soybean oil , safflower oil , sunflower oil , animal oils such as lanolin or perhydrosqualene , synthetic oils such as purcellin oil , silicone oils such as cyclomethicome among others . fatty alcohols , fatty acids such as stearic acid and waxes such as paraffin wax , carnauba wax or beeswax may also be used as fats . the composition may also contain emulsifying agents such as glyceryl stearate , solvents such as lower alcohols including ethanol , isopropanol , and propylene glycol , hydrophilic gelling agents including carboxyvinyl polymers or acrylic copolymers , polyacrylamides , polysaccharides , lipophilic gelling agents or fatty acid metal salts among others , hydrophilic acting agents such as amino acids , sugars , starch or urea , lipophilic active agents such as retinol or tocopherol . in some embodiments , the compositions contain one or more α 1 - adrenoceptor agonists , to act specifically on the erythematous component of the condition to be treated , admixed with another agent known to be effective in treating another manifestation of the disease state . for example , compositions consisting of anti - rosacea agents such as metronidazole , precipitated sulfur , sodium sulfacetamide , or azelaic acid , which are commonly used to treat the papular and pustular components of rosacea are combined with a dermatologically / pharmacologically acceptable form of the subject α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist to effect treatment of both the inflammatory ( papular and pustular ) and erythematous manifestations of the condition . there is currently no known composition available that succeeds in this goal . other embodiments combine one or more α 1 - adrenoceptor agonist with active agents destined , in particular , for preventing and / or treating the erythema associated with numerous other skin complaints , conditions and afflictions . examples of these agents include : 2 . antibacterial agents ( antibiotics ) such as clindamycin phosphate , erythromycin , or antibiotics from the tetracycline family . 3 . antimycobacterial agents such as dapsone . 4 . other antiacne agents such as retinoids , or benzoyl peroxide . 5 . antiparasitic agents such as metronidazole , permethrin , crotamiton or pyrethroids . 6 . antifungal agents such as compounds of the imidazole family such as miconazole , clotrimazole , econazole , ketoconazole , or salts thereof , polyene compounds such as amphotericin b , compound of the allylamine family such as terbinafine . 7 . steroidal anti - inflammatory agents such as hydrocortisone triamcinolone , fluocinonide , betamethasone valerate or clobetasol propionate , or non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents such as ibuprofen and salts thereof , naproxen and salts thereof , or acetaminophen . 8 . anesthetic agents such as lidocaine , prilocalne , tetracaine , hydrochloride and derivatives thereof . 9 . antipruriginous agents such as thenaldine , trimeprazine , or pramoxine . 10 . antiviral agents such as acyclovir . 11 . keratolytic agents such as alpha - and beta - hydroxy acids such as glycolic 12 . anti - free radical agents ( antioxidants ) such as vitamin e ( alpha tocopherol ) and its derivatives , vitamin c ( ascorbic acid ), vitamin a ( retinol ) and its derivatives , and superoxide dismutases . 13 . antiseborrheic agents such as zinc pyrithione and selenium sulfide . 14 . antihistamines such as cyproheptadine or hydroxyzine . 15 . tricyclic antidepressants such as doxepin hydrochloride . in order to further illustrate the present invention and the advantages thereof , the following specific examples are given , it being understood that the same are illustrative and in no ways limitative . the administration of compositions containing one or more alpha - 1 adrenoreceptor agonists elicits a marked decrease or even complete disappearance of skin redness , which is manifested both in rosacea and other discreet erythemas . specifically , according to the present invention , at least one alpha - 1 adrenoreceptor agonist is formulated into a cosmetic , pharmaceutical or dermatological composition for treating skin redness of vascular origin , evident in rosacea and / or other discreet erythemas including acne and sunburn . the compositions of the invention will be , preferably , administered topically . the subjective compositions for topical application comprise a cosmetically , pharmaceutically or dermatologically acceptable medium ( vehicle , diluent or carrier ), namely a medium which is compatible with application to the skin . the present invention is directed to the use of alpha 1 and 2 adrenoreceptor agonists for treat rosacea or erythema . in one embodiment , the invention is directed to the use alpha 1 agonists such oxymetazoline hydrochloride as a vasoconstrictor for use with or without an anti - acne compound . alternative alpha 1 agonists including phenylephrine are applicable to the teachings of the present invention . the principles of the present invention are also deemed to be applicable to alpha 2 adrenoreceptor agonists such as clonidine and clenbuterol . for the purposes of this disclosure , rosacea is characterized by erythema of the face , predominantly on the cheeks , the forehead and the nose , hyperseborrhoea of the face on the forehead , the nose and the cheeks , and an infectious component manifesting acne form pustules . moreover , these indications are associated with a neurogenic component , namely , a cutaneous hyperreactivity of the skin of the face and of the neck , characterized by the appearance of redness and subjective sensations of the itching or pruritus type , sensations of burning or of heating , sensations of stinging , tingling , discomfort , tightness , etc . the preferred alpha 1 or 2 agonist used as a vasoconstrictor in the present invention is preferably used in an amount of about 0 . 01 % up to about 20 %, and preferably about 0 . 1 % to about 10 %, by weight based on the total weight of the composition . in the most preferred embodiment , the vasoconstrictor comprises an alpha 1 or alpha 2 adrenoreceptor agonist . the vasoconstrictor used in the present invention may function to remove the redness from acne areas of the skin , including oxymetazoline hydrochloride , the preferred agonist in the present invention oxymetazoline hydrochloride : the chemical formula for oxymetazoline hydrochloride is as follows : the following table sets forth the characteristics of alpha 1 and alpa 2 adrenoreceptors as used in the present invention . the present invention has been described with reference to the enclosed preferred embodiment . the true nature and scope of the present invention is to be determined with reference to the claims appended hereto .

0Human Necessities

the present invention satisfies the need for current mode control for a multiple - phase power converter operated with a relatively low input voltage or a relatively high duty cycle . in the detailed description that follows , like element numerals are used to describe like elements illustrated in one or more of the drawings . referring first to fig1 an exemplary multiple - phase dc - to - dc voltage converter 10 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the multiple - phase dc - to - dc voltage converter 10 includes three single - phase power converter modules 12 , 14 and 16 that are connected in parallel to provide a regulated output voltage ( v out ) to a load 18 ( illustrated as resistor ( r l )). a filter capacitor 28 is connected to the power modules 12 , 14 , 16 in parallel with the load 18 to provide smoothing of the output voltage v out . an input voltage source ( v in ) is connected to each of the power converter modules 12 , 14 , 16 . the power converter modules 12 , 14 , 16 each further receive a drive signal from respective current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , 36 , respectively . it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to a three - phase voltage converter , and that the multiple - phase voltage converter may have a different number of converter modules as known in the art . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the power converter modules 12 , 14 , 16 each further comprises a synchronous buck converter , but it should be appreciated that alternative topologies such as boost and inverter converters could also be advantageously utilized . the current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , 36 each receive a voltage error signal and a current sense signal . a voltage error circuit includes differential amplifier 22 that compares the output voltage ( v out ) to a reference voltage ( v ref ), and provides the voltage error signal . the voltage error circuit may further include a voltage divider ( not shown ) that reduces the output voltage ( v out ) to a lower voltage for comparison to the reference voltage ( v ref ). a current sense circuit includes sense resistor 26 and differential amplifier 24 . the sense resistor 26 is connected in series between the input voltage source ( v in ) and the power converter modules 12 , 14 , 16 such that the current passing through the sense resistor 26 corresponds to the current drawn by the load 18 . the differential amplifier 24 measures the voltage across the sense resistor 26 and provides the current sense signal having a voltage corresponding the current through the resistor 26 . it should be appreciated that the current sense signal can also be recovered from other parts of the multiple - phase voltage converter 10 , such as through the output inductors of the power converter modules 12 , 14 , 16 or through the on - resistance between drain and source of the power switches ( r dson ). but , it is generally preferred to have the sense resistor 26 in series with the input voltage source ( v in ) since that configuration enables all three phases to share a single current sense circuit , thereby minimizing the cost and complexity of the multiple - phase voltage converter . the current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , 36 each further receive a phase select input from phase select circuit 44 . the phase select circuit 44 is further connected to an oscillator 42 that provides a clock signal . the current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , 36 are synchronous with different phases , and are turned on at different times . the phase select circuit 44 successively selects one of the current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , 36 for operation in phase within each power cycle by providing a corresponding clock pulse from the oscillator 42 . it should therefore be understood that a power cycle would comprise three successive clock pulses in accordance with the exemplary three - phase voltage converter . referring now to fig2 an exemplary offset peak current mode control circuit is shown . the current mode control circuit of fig2 corresponds to any one of the current mode control circuits 32 , 34 , and 36 of fig1 . the current mode control circuit includes sr latches 52 , 54 , pwm comparator 56 , resistors 62 , 66 , diode 68 , capacitor 64 , and differential amplifier 58 . the s input terminals of the sr latches 52 , 54 are connected to the phase select circuit 44 ( see fig1 ), which sets the latches at the start of a phase . the pwm comparator 56 receives the current sense signal and voltage error signal , and provides an output signal to the r input terminal of sr latch 52 to reset the latch . the q output terminal of the sr latch 52 is connected to ground through resistor 62 and capacitor 64 . the inverting input terminal of differential amplifier 58 is connected to ground , and the non - inverting input terminal is connected to capacitor 64 through resistor 66 . the diode 68 is connected between the q output terminal of the sr latch 52 and the non - inverting input terminal of differential amplifier 58 . the differential amplifier 58 provides an output signal to the r input terminal of the sr latch 54 . the q output terminal of the sr latch 54 provides the on - off switching signal used to drive the power switches of the associated power converter module . the operation of the exemplary offset peak current mode control circuit of fig2 is now described in connection with the waveforms illustrated in fig3 . an exemplary current sense signal has a generally periodic shape with a ramp portion and abrupt step portion ( shown in fig3 ). the step portion corresponds to an overlap between two successive phases in which the power transistors of two separate power converter modules are conducting at the same time . the step portion of the current sense signal comprises a distortion of the current sense signal that prevents the clean detection of a peak of the current sense signal during a single phase of the power cycle . in fig3 the current sense signal is shown in relation to the voltage level of the voltage error signal ( v ea ). the estimated peak current level is also shown as occurring during the distortion of the current sense signal , thereby precluding the use of convention peak current mode control . there is an offset voltage between the estimated peak current level and the voltage error signal . as described above , the pwm comparator 56 compares the current sense signal to the voltage error signal . the sr latch 52 is set at time t 0 when the s terminal receives the phase select signal , causing the q output to go high . the voltage of the current sense signal rises above the voltage error signal at time t 1 , causing the output of the pwm comparator 56 to turn positive and further causing the q output of the sr latch 52 to return low . this is shown in fig3 as the original duty cycle , which in the prior art was used to drive the power switches of the associated power converter module . it should be understood that the original duty cycle is no longer used to drive the power switches , as will be further described below . when the q output of the sr latch 52 goes high , the capacitor 64 is charged through the resistor 62 . then , when the q output of the sr latch 52 goes low , the capacitor 64 is discharged . this results in a saw tooth waveform as shown in fig3 at the connection between resistor 62 and capacitor 64 . the differential amplifier 58 compares the voltage of the saw tooth waveform with ground . the sr latch 54 is set at time t 0 when the s terminal receives the phase select signal , causing the q output to go high . the diode 68 causes the voltage at the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 58 to remain above zero at the start of the saw tooth waveform . as long as the voltage of the saw tooth waveform is above ground , the output of the pwm comparator 56 remains positive . at time t 2 , the capacitor 64 has fully discharged and the saw tooth waveform returns to ground , causing the q output of the sr latch 54 to go low . this is shown in fig3 as the stretched duty cycle , which is used in the present invention to drive the power switches of the associated power converter module . thus , the stretched duty cycle has a pulse width that is double that of the original duty cycle . the offset peak current mode control circuit then remains dormant for then next two phases , during which time the other two current mode control circuits are successively active . then , at time t 6 , the current mode control circuit receives the phase select signal and the process repeats again . in an embodiment of the present invention , the offset peak current mode control circuit further includes a circuit that disables the duty cycle stretching when the duty cycle is below 33 %. this allows the same offset peak current mode control circuit to be used in either high input voltage ( e . g ., 12 volts ) power converters or low input voltage ( e . g ., 5 volts ) power converters . as noted above , a high dc input voltage requires shorter on - time of the power switches than a low dc input voltage . when the current mode control circuit is used with a high dc input voltage ( e . g ., 12 volts ), there would not be an overlap of the phases and the duty cycle would be less than 33 %. the disabling circuit further includes resistor 72 , capacitor 74 , and differential amplifier 76 . resistor 72 and capacitor 74 are connected between the q output of sr latch 54 and ground . the non - inverting input terminal of the differential amplifier 76 is connected to the capacitor 74 , and the inverting input terminal is connected to a reference voltage ( v ref2 ). the output of the differential amplifier 76 is connected to the capacitor 64 . the capacitor 74 is charged by the stretched duty cycle produced by the sr latch 54 . the differential amplifier 76 compares the voltage across the capacitor 74 to the reference voltage ( v ref2 ). the reference voltage ( v ref2 ) is selected to be equal to the average voltage across the capacitor 76 when a 33 % duty cycle is utilized . when the duty cycle produced by the sr latch 54 is greater than 33 %, the output of the differential amplifier 76 is positive and the current mode control circuit operates as described above . but , when the duty cycle produced by the sr latch 54 is less than 33 %, the output of the differential amplifier 76 is negative , which prevents the capacitor 64 from charging . as a result , the sr latch 54 will operate the same as the sr latch 52 , with the diode 68 providing the triggering signal to the differential amplifier 58 to start and stop the duty cycle . having thus described a preferred embodiment the offset peak current mode control circuit for a multiple - phase power converter , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantages of the described method and system have been achieved . it should also be appreciated that various modifications , adaptations , and alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention . the invention is further defined by the following claims .

7Electricity

this invention relates to developing nanofiber - supported catalysts and applying them as additives to create a reinforced layer that in turn can be used in conjunction with non - reinforced layers that together make up multilayer fuel cell membranes . by applying thin ( for example , less than 1 - 2 μm ) coatings via multiple passes , the nanofiber additives in the reinforced layers may be substantially maintained in the in - plane direction to optimize the strengthening effect in the deposited plane . the nanofiber materials may be organic ( e . g ., polymer ( such as polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ) or polyether sulfone ( pes )) or inorganic ( e . g ., carbon , metal , ceramic oxide and composites ( e . g ., ceo 2 , mno 2 , tio 2 , zro 2 , or cezro 4 )). the nanofiber materials can be electrically conductive ( e . g ., carbon , or metal ) or non - conductive ( e . g ., ceramic oxide and composites ). as shown below , an mea made with such a multilayer membrane having reinforced and non - reinforced layers demonstrates improved chemical and mechanical durability in fuel cell tests . referring first to fig1 and 2 , one example of the nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 includes a carbon nanofiber 1 a that provides support for a pt particle catalyst 1 b . the inventors prepared a nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 b with 10 % pt supported on carbon nanofiber 1 a . a 1 g quantity of carbon ( which was pre - treated in 5m hno 3 acid at 80 ° c . for 24 hours ) nanofibers and 0 . 3 g chloroplatinic acid hydrate ( h 2 ptcl 6 . 6h 2 o ) was mixed in 600 to 1200 ml ethylene glycol for the above 10 wt % target . the mixed solution was sonicated for 1 hour for full dispersion and dissolution , after which its ph value was adjusted from 9 to 11 using 1m sodium hydroxide ( naoh ) in ethylene glycol . the solution was stirred at room temperature under n 2 flow for 24 hours , and subsequently heated up to 130 ° c ., followed by holding at the final temperature for approximate 10 hours . the resulting pt - coated nanofiber was filtered , washed with deionized water , and dried in an oven at 80 ° c . for 24 hours . the resulting nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 was examined by scanning electron microscopy ( sem ), as shown . the size of carbon nanofiber 1 a was about 150 nm in diameter , and the pt particles 1 b distributed on the nanofibers 1 a had particle size of less than 10 nm . referring with particularity to fig2 , a procedure for constructing a notional three - layer 20 membrane configuration with alternating layers 10 , 15 of reinforced and non - reinforced material is shown . it will be apparent from the remainder of the disclosure that configurations with only two layers ( not shown , specifically , a single layer of reinforced material 10 and a single layer of non - reinforced material 15 ), as well as those with larger numbers ( not shown ) of both reinforced and non - reinforced layers 10 , 15 are also within the scope of the present invention . in the first part of the procedure , randomly - oriented nanofibers 1 a and a noble metal catalyst precursor p ( for example , chloroplatinic acid hydrate ( h 2 ptcl 6 . 6h 2 o ) or potassium hexachloroplatinate ( k 2 ptcl 6 )) are mixed in a solvent such as ethylene glycol or alcohol to make up ink precursor dispersion 2 . in one form , the mixing is achieved by stirring 3 or by any other suitable method . for example , the ink precursor dispersion 2 may be sonicated ( e . g ., for about 1 hour ) to achieve full dispersion and dissolution . the ph value of the ink precursor dispersion 2 can be adjusted to a desired value by adding acidic ( e . g ., hno 4 , h 2 so 4 ) or basic ( e . g ., naoh ) ingredients as needed . after sonication , the ink precursor dispersion 2 is stirred ( e . g ., for about 24 hours ) at temperature ( e . g ., room temperature ) and gas purge ( e . g ., n 2 ) conditions . the reaction under this second stirring may be performed at other desired conditions ( e . g ., at higher temperature ( e . g ., 70 - 180 ° c .)) as needed . the chemical reduction reaction results in the formation of a nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 that is filtered 4 , washed 5 with deionized water , and dried or heat treated 6 ( for example , at about 80 ° c ., in air , for about 24 hours ), although it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the drying / heat treating conditions are not critical , and that any suitable conditions may be used . in the second part of the procedure , two different coating solutions 8 include the coating solution 8 a containing the nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 from the previous part of the procedure , as well as the coating solution 8 b that is devoid of the reinforcement . both solutions 8 a and 8 b include an ionomer ( not separately shown ); in one form , the ionomer is nafion ®- based , although other equivalents may also be used . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the precise makeup of the coating solutions 8 a , 8 b ( as well as the aforementioned ink precursor dispersion 2 ) may be tailored to specific requirements ; for example , types and amounts of solvents , as well as the use of organic or inorganic additives . the concentration of nanofiber - supported catalysts 1 and ionomer , as well as the weight ratio between them can be adjusted by adding different amounts of solvent or other liquid . in this example , the resulting ink solution 8 a has a ratio of nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 to ionomer in the range from about 1 : 20 to about 1 : 2 by weight , to get about 5 to about 35 wt % of nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 in the dry reinforced layers . diluted nafion ® solution 8 b without additive reinforcements were also prepared with 5 - 20 wt % concentration . in the third part of the procedure , membranes 20 can be made by coating alternating layers of the unreinforced ionomer solution 8 b and the nanofiber - supported catalyst - reinforced ionomer solution 8 a onto a backer film that in turn can be deposited layer - by - layer , or by a single step procedure with the coating height adjusted for each layer . in either scenario , the resulting membrane 20 takes on multilayer attributes , as the non - homogeneity of the alternating reinforced and non - reinforced layers tends to be preserved , even in situations where subsequent membrane processing ( involving one or more of heat and compression , for example ) would have a tendency to blend or otherwise at least partially homogenize the stacked layers 10 , 15 . in one exemplary form , the present inventors used a 50 μm polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) backer film from saint - gobain as the backer film . an erichsen coater with 10 inches by 15 inches of active membrane coating area was used . the thickness of each layer 10 , 15 of the membranes 20 can be controlled by one or both of the amount of respective solution 8 a , 8 b applied , as well as the concentration of the same . a bird applicator ( such as available from paul e . gardner co .) with selected slot thickness ( in the range of 25 - 150 μm ) was used to coat each specific membrane layer 10 , 15 . the thickness of each membrane layer 10 , 15 was controlled by the height of the bird applicator slot , which determined the amount of respective solution 8 a , 8 b applied , as well as the concentration of the coating solution 8 a , 8 b . for the layer - by - layer procedure , multiple coating passes ( also known as ramps ) were conducted for the reinforced layer 10 to ensure the in - plane direction of the nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 , and that the thickness of each pass was less than 2 μm after drying . as shown in fig2 , the reinforced membrane layer 10 includes a plurality of nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 oriented substantially within the horizontal plane of the reinforced membrane layer 10 . so long as the orientation of the fibers was substantially within the plane of the deposited layer ( rather than oriented in a through - the - thickness direction ), neither coating layer deposition nor the distribution within the plane fiber orientation was taken into consideration for the built - up reinforcing layers . once each of the layers 10 , 15 are deposited , the membranes are then dried ( typically at about room temperature for at least a half an hour after each layer or pass of coating ); afterward , once all of the layers 10 , 15 or the whole membrane 20 are coated , they are heat treated ( typically between 250 ° f . to 300 ° f . for 1 to 24 hours ). in one particular form , the heat treatment was conducted at 140 ° c . for 12 hours . for comparative purposes , single layer membranes ( not shown ) were also prepared without nanofiber additives . the thickness of all of the membranes in this example were controlled to the same value ( about 20 μm ), although as shown in fig2 , at least one of the layers 15 may be made to have a different thickness , depending on the need . referring next to fig5 , a fuel cell 40 with anode bipolar plate 50 , cathode bipolar plate 60 , anode ccdm 70 and cathode ccdm 80 is shown . membrane 20 ( such as that prepared from the steps of fig2 described above ) is shown disposed between adjacent ccdms 70 , 80 in general , and between the catalytically - active electrode layers 75 ( anode electrode layer ), 85 ( cathode electrode layer ) that form part of the respective ccdms 70 , 80 in particular . although shown presently in a ccdm - based configuration ( where the creation of the work - producing external electric current extends between catalytic layers of the ccdms ), it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is equally applicable to a ccm - based configuration ( where the creation of the work - producing external electric current extends between catalytic layers formed on the outer opposing surfaces of the membrane ). the arrangement may optionally include a subgasket ( for example , an 8 μm layer of kapton , not shown ) positioned between it and the ccdms 70 , 80 on one or both sides . the subgasket has the shape of a frame , and the size of the window is smaller than the footprint of the membrane 20 and the ccdms 70 , 80 . pt / vulcan was used to form the electrocatalyst layer . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , pt / vulcan or pt / v is a type of catalyst used in fuel cells . when preparing electrode layers , pt / v may be mixed with ionomer in a solvent to form catalyst / ionomer inks , after which the inks may be coated on gdm with controlled loadings to form ccdms . in the present invention , the inventors used a pt loading ( weight of a normal metal ( for example , pt ) per unit area of mea ) of 0 . 4 mg / cm 2 at the cathode and 0 . 05 mg / cm 2 at the anode . in one form , the reinforced layer 10 of membrane 20 may be biased toward the cathode ccdm 80 ; such construction compensates for the faster travel of the crossover hydrogen by having them traverse a longer path than the crossover oxygen . chemical catalytic reaction of hydrogen and oxygen from crossover takes place at a pt active surface inside of the membrane thereby reducing reactant gas crossover . as shown in fig5 , the reinforced membrane layer 10 includes a plurality of nanofiber - supported catalyst 1 oriented substantially within the horizontal plane of the reinforced membrane layer 10 . meas made up of membranes 20 with ccdms 70 , 80 were tested for mechanical and chemical durability . meas made from membranes without reinforcement were also prepared . in one form , the mechanical durability testing was based on rh cycling . in the rh cycling tests , the portion conducted without loads was used to evaluate the mechanical durability of meas containing membranes with and without reinforced layers . for each test , 50 cm 2 active area graphite plates with 2 mm width straight channels and lands were used for the cell build . the rh cycling test was conducted at 80 ° c ., and ambient outlet gas pressure , while 2 slpm constant flow rate of air was introduced in both the anode and cathode of the cell in a counter - flow format . the air supplies to the anode and cathode were periodically by - passed or passed through humidifiers controlled at 90 ° c ., to achieve 150 % rh and 0 % rh with a duration of 2 min at each condition . the mea failure criteria was arbitrarily defined as 10 sccm crossover gas leak between from anode to cathode or vice versa . the target of the rh cycling test for a mea is at least 20 , 000 rh cycles with less than 10 sccm crossover gas leak . the results of rh cycling tests are shown in fig3 , where the meas containing the membrane without the reinforced layer failed with significant leakage at fewer than 20 , 000 cycles , whereas the meas containing the multilayer membranes 20 with reinforced layer passed the test criteria . as such , the present inventors have inferred that the reinforced layers containing nanofiber - supported pt catalyst additives improved fuel cell durability by enhancing membrane mechanical stability . the meas were also subjected to chemical durability tests under open circuit voltage ( ocv ) conditions . some of the meas were configured as having multilayer membrane containing nanofiber - supported pt catalysts in the reinforced layer , while others were configured as comparison membrane samples without a reinforced layer ; each were individually assembled in fuel cell hardware and tested for chemical durability under various ocv conditions , including a standard test procedure at 95 ° c ., and 50 % rh for 100 hours duration , and then at 95 ° c ., 25 % rh for another 100 hours duration . under these conditions , the meas were subject to chemical degradation due to the production of oxidants including hydroxyl radical (• oh ) and h 2 o 2 . during this test , the fuel cell ocv , as well as the fluoride release rate ( frr ), were evaluated and recorded . as shown in fig4 , the mea containing nanofiber - supported pt catalysts in the reinforced layer of the membrane demonstrated better durability than the membrane without the reinforced layer : it has smaller ocv loss and lower averaged frr throughout the test duration . in the mea with the reinforced layer , the pt reduced crossover of reactant gases ( e . g ., h 2 , o 2 ) and by - product ( e . g ., h 2 o 2 ), therefore , provided protection to the membrane for improved membrane durability . it is noted that terms like “ generally ,” “ commonly ,” and “ typically ,” when utilized herein , are not utilized to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments or to imply that certain features are critical , essential , or even important to the structure or function of the claimed embodiments . rather , these terms are merely intended to identify particular aspects of an embodiment or to emphasize alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment . further , it is noted that recitations herein of a component of an embodiment being “ configured ” in a particular way or to embody a particular property , or function in a particular manner , are structural recitations as opposed to recitations of intended use . more specifically , the references herein to the manner in which a component is “ configured ” denotes an existing physical condition of the component and , as such , is to be taken as a definite recitation of the structural factors of the component . for the purposes of describing and defining embodiments herein it is noted that the terms “ substantially ,” “ significantly ,” and “ approximately ” are utilized to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison , value , measurement , or other representation , and as such may represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue . having described embodiments of the present invention in detail , and by reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the embodiments defined in the appended claims . more specifically , although some aspects of embodiments of the present invention are identified herein as preferred or particularly advantageous , it is contemplated that the embodiments of the present invention are not necessarily limited to these preferred aspects .

7Electricity

several different types of devices are provided for applying a topical anesthetic , such as an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics ( emla ). the devices work in a generally similar manner , and preferably have a number of common features and benefits . it is particularly desirable for the device to have a body with a medication holder and closure means so that the device is easy to position , wrap , secure , and remove ; is comfortable when worn ; and does not have a significant likelihood of leakage from the area of the patient that is to be anesthetized . referring to fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ), a medication holder 10 can take the form of a patch and can have a size and shape that can be modified to fit in different types of devices for different parts of the body . holder 10 includes a cloth or cloth - like disk 12 that is saturated with anesthetic , preferably 1 g of a eutectic mixture in a 5 % emulsion . disk 12 is mounted against a backing laminate 18 , and is surrounded with an annular seal area 14 . in a prior known patch , an adhesive area 16 ( shown in dashed line ) would surround seal area 14 . such an adhesive area is preferably omitted according to the present invention , because adhesives can lose adhesion through contact with cream , or due to flexion . a closure laminate 20 covers disk 12 , and can easily be peeled off seal area 14 to expose the anesthetic impregnated in disk 12 . referring to fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ), a device for applying anesthetic to a patient &# 39 ; s hand takes the form of a fingerless glove 40 when worn . glove 40 has a body 42 made of a comfortable , flexible material that conforms to the contours and texture of the skin , and that tolerates movement and flexion . an exemplary material is a synthetic rubber , such as a product known as neoprene ®. other materials that conform to the shape of a hand , flex freely , and tolerate movement while maintaining contact with the skin surface , can be used , such as latex or a cotton / lyrca / spandex material . if latex is used , other options should be available because some people are sensitive to latex . it is also desirable , particularly when the patients are children , that the material be provided in colorful and attractive designs so that children will be more likely to want to wear such a glove . in an open position as shown in fig2 ( a ), body 42 is generally planar and includes a central palm portion 43 and integral flaps 44 , 46 at opposite ends of the palm portion 43 . flaps 44 , 46 have an integral closure means , which is preferably provided as hook and loop regions , such as those used in a velcro ® hook and loop fastener . flap 44 has a region on an outside surface ( not shown ) with hooks , while flap 46 has an inside surface ( i . e ., a surface that faces the patient when the glove is worn ) with a region 47 of loops . alternatively , the hooks and loops can be on flaps 46 and 44 , respectively . flap 44 has on its inside surface a medication holder 50 that holds the anesthetic , preferably with a disk impregnated with a topical anesthetic as described in conjunction with fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ). in this case , the backing laminate 18 ( fig1 ( b )) is attached to the body . as shown in fig2 ( a ), the glove is open and is not &# 34 ; glove - shaped &# 34 ; before it is placed on the hand ; otherwise , the anesthetic could smear if the glove had to be pulled over the hand . the open design avoids smearing and also helps provide accurate placement of medication holder 50 . to fit the glove , an appropriately sized glove is selected , and a closure laminate 20 is peeled off to expose the anesthetic ( fig1 ). the patient inserts his or her fingers and thumb into a ring finger loop 52 , an index finger loop 54 , and a thumb opening 56 , so that the palm of the patient &# 39 ; s hand faces palm portion 43 . loops 52 , 54 and opening 56 help position the glove and keep it in position when closed . flap 44 is folded over the back of the hand so that the anesthetic in well 50 contacts the hand at a desired location on the back of the hand . flap 46 is then folded over flap 44 so that the loops in region 47 contact the hooks in the region on the outside surface of flap 44 . if properly fitted , the glove should now hold securely and conform to the shape of the hand such that normal hand flexion and other movement should not allow any anesthetic to escape from the area that is being anesthetized . the glove is preferably positioned and worn without an adhesive , which could otherwise become loosened from flexion . after the glove has been left in place for a desired time , typically about sixty minutes , a catheter or needle can be inserted . to remove the glove , the hooks and loops are easily pulled apart and flaps 44 , 46 are opened to expose the anesthetized site . thus , the closure means can be opened with a single motion from one hand , allowing the patient to remove the glove when enough time has lapsed , or in case of discomfort . referring to fig3 ( a )- 3 ( d ), to provide anesthetic to the top or heel of the foot ( as is sometimes done with infants ), a device is provided in the form of a sock 60 . a closure means and a medication well are generally similar to those in glove 40 . as with the glove , the sock shape is not evident when in the open position , but the sock is wrapped around the foot to accurately place the medication holder and to avoid smearing of the anesthetic . a medication holder 62a , 62c can be located on top of the foot , as shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( d ), or on the heel , as shown in fig3 ( b ) and 3 ( c ), or both . a closure laminate over holder 62a , 62c is removed and the sock is placed on the foot . when the holder is to be placed over the heel , it is positioned over the site to be anesthetized when the sock is positioned ; when the holder is to be placed over the top of the foot , the holder is on a flap 66 . after flap 66 is positioned , a flap 68 is crossed over the top of the flap 66 to close the sock with hook and loop regions located on flaps 66 , 68 . a loop region 69 is shown on flap 68 in fig3 ( c ) and 3 ( d ), while a hook region 70 is shown on flap 66 in fig3 ( c ). as is done with the glove , the sock is kept on for a desired time , and then it is removed by pulling apart the hook and loop regions with one easy motion . referring to fig4 ( a ) and 4 ( b ), a device is provided in the form of a tube 80 to apply a topical anesthetic to a patient &# 39 ; s antecubital region . tube 80 has a central body 82 , a medication holder 84 on the inside surface of body 82 , and flaps 86 , 87 , 88 , and 89 . hook regions 90 , 92 are on flaps 85 , 87 and loop regions 94 , 96 are on flaps 88 , 89 . to use the tube system , an appropriately sized tube is chosen , a closure laminate over a medication holder is removed , and the medication holder with anesthetic is positioned over the insertion site . flaps 86 , 87 are positioned over the arm , and flaps 88 , 89 are crossed over to close the tube . unlike the sock and the glove , the medication holder for tube 80 is on the main body instead of on one of the flaps . the patch that is provided on the body of the device can be designed for one - time usage , or the holder may include slots or some other mechanism to allow patches to be replaceably and reusably provided on the body before the body is wrapped around a body part of the patient . referring to fig5 as an alternative to a patch , a shallow well 100 for holding an anesthetizing topical cream can be provided against a body 99 . this well may be a shallow disk for holding the cream , and can be reusable , assuming the materials allow for appropriate cleansing . the well is preferably designed and made of an appropriate material so that it is durable but also has softness and flexibility at the sides so that it is comfortable when worn . having described certain preferred embodiments , it should be apparent that other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . hook and loop regions have been described as a preferred closure means , but a different closure means can be used , such as straps for tying , buckles , or clips . whatever the structure , the closure means should preferably be easy to close and easy to release , preferably with one hand , and more preferably with one motion of one hand . while three particular shapes have been shown and described above , other shapes could be used to anesthetize these or other areas on the body .

0Human Necessities

referring to fig1 , a paint circulation system 10 includes a paint tank 11 containing a reservoir of liquid paint . a pump 12 is operable to supply paint from the paint tank 11 , optionally through a paint filter 13 , to a spray booth 14 . the spray booth 14 typically includes one or more applicators 16 . for example these may be spray nozzles manipulated by robot arms . any unused paint flows past the spray booth and is returned to the paint tank 11 via a bpr 15 . in this set - up , the bpr 15 is employed to control the upstream pressure in the system at the desired level , typically 5 to 10 bar when the paint is in use . the bpr 15 typically includes a diaphragm , one side of which is acted upon by a coiled spring . the pressure of paint entering the bpr 15 urges the diaphragm against the spring force to open up a passage for paint . any reduction in paint pressure results in the diaphragm moving under the spring force , tending to close the passage . this acts as a restriction to the flow of paint , which means that a greater pressure drop occurs across the bpr 15 so that the upstream pressure is maintained . the spring force acting on the diaphragm is pre - set so that the bpr 15 acts to maintain a set upstream pressure . the known circulating system of fig1 is based on pump flow rates being set to provide the maximum flow demand from the paint take - offs ( i . e . applicators 16 ), assuming all are in use at the same time . as paint line pressure drops due to paint usage , the bpr 15 closes to reduce the fluid flow returning to the paint tank 11 thus maintaining the desired line pressure . referring to fig2 , there is shown a system 20 according to the present invention , wherein equivalent components to those shown in fig1 have the same reference numeral . in this case an electric variable speed pump 22 , referred to hereafter as a smart pump , pumps the paint from the paint tank 11 to the spray booth 14 . although the smart pump described herein is an electric pump , it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that alternative pumps may be used , for example air driven or hydraulically driven pumps . the smart pump 22 includes a pressure sensor 24 . paint not used in the spray booth 14 is circulated back to the paint tank 11 via an automatically controlled bpr 25 , referred to hereafter as a smart bpr . the smart bpr is of a type that can be activated and de - activated by way of a suitable control mechanism , for example compressed air or hydraulic fluid . an example of such a regulator is described in the applicants &# 39 ; concurrently filed united kingdom patent application entitled “ back pressure regulator ”, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . the smart pump 22 and the smart bpr 25 are controlled from a controller 26 . a signal from the pressure sensor 24 is provided as an input to the controller 26 . the controller 26 may be a plc or other suitable programmable device . in an exemplary embodiment , the controller comprises a smart card , as will be described in more detail below . the controller 26 is configured to control the smart pump 22 and the smart bpr 25 so that these will operate in either a flow mode or a pressure mode . the mode may be determined from job queue data . when paint is needed at the applicators 16 ( as per job queue data ), the system 20 will be operated in the pressure mode . the controller 26 will issue a command signal that will cause the smart bpr to be activated so that it will operate to maintain the upstream pressure according to a predetermined set pressure . the user will also have pre - set the desired system pressure into a memory of the controller 26 , for example via a laptop or pc input during initial start up . the controller 26 is programmed to control the pump speed so that the pressure will be maintained , by means of a suitable control loop . the pressure sensor 24 transmits the actual pressure in the paint line to the controller 26 , which reacts by using the control loop to output a signal that controls the speed of the smart pump 22 . for example if the paint pressure drops in the line below the set pressure due to usage at the applicators 16 , the pump 22 will speed up in order to maintain pressure . note : the smart bpr 25 will initially dynamically reduce the amount of fluid returning to the paint tank 11 in order to maintain the set pressure . the smart pump 22 only speeds up once the bpr 25 can no longer maintain the system pressure . when material is not in demand ( as per job queue data ) the system 20 will be operated in flow mode . the user will have input the minimum flow rate required to meet the desired minimum paint velocity as recommended by material supplier and the controller will control the smart pump 22 to operate at the speed required to provide this minimum flow rate . in addition the controller 26 will issue a command to de - activate the smart bpr 25 . the smart bpr 25 will no longer operate to maintain the upstream pressure , so that the only system back pressure will be due to the pipework frictional resistance . energy usage will now be at a minimum . referring to fig3 , more detail is shown of an exemplary controller 26 for controlling the smart pump 22 and smart bpr 25 of the system 20 of fig2 . this controller 26 includes a smart card 30 . the smart card 30 typically comprises one or more printed circuit boards ( pcbs ) housed in a plastic carrier and mountable to a din rail in a purpose built or an existing control panel . the smart card 30 contains circuitry that includes a programmable memory and a processor . alternatively , the smart card may include an interface for communicating with an external processor , for example a plc or a computer . the smart card 30 may include a plurality ( e . g . 8 ) channels , each channel on the card being used to control one of a number of paint lines , each of which may provide a different colour , feeding the spray booth . each channel on the smart card 30 includes a number of input / output terminals . these include : a digital input 41 for receiving a system mode signal an input 42 for receiving a signal ( e . g . 4 - 20 ma ) from the pressure sensor 24 an output 43 for providing a signal ( e . g . 4 - 20 ma ) corresponding to a frequency to an ac frequency inverter 32 for controlling the speed of the smart pump 22 an output 44 ( e . g . capable of driving 24 v at 50 ma ) for controlling the switching of a valve 34 for connecting / disconnecting a supply of compressed air 36 to the smart bpr 25 . in addition , the smart card 30 is provided with a serial communications link 45 . this is used as a data link to a computer 38 ( e . g . a pc or a lap - top ) that includes a graphics system for use in setting up the smart card , and for monitoring , data - logging and display of system parameters . the computer 38 may also receive data via one or more inputs 47 relating to other operating parameters of the system , for example differential pressures across the paint filter 13 , or level indicators on the paint tank 11 . the smart card 30 may also be provided with a further data link 46 to another , similar smart card , so that a plurality of smart cards may be cascaded in a single control system . in use , set point values are inputted to the smart card 30 at initial start up via the communications link 45 from the laptop or pc 38 . job queue data from the software that monitors the position of parts being conveyed through the plant reports which paint system ( i . e . which colour ) needs to be in readiness for production , this data will be received by the smart card 30 to control the smart pump 22 and smart bpr 25 accordingly . the job queue data is transmitted to the smart card 30 by ccr lan to the monitoring pc 38 or by digital input 41 . the memory on the smart card 30 includes a programmed control algorithm that defines the control loop for the operation of the smart pump 22 in response to the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor 24 , when the system is operating in pressure mode . material is not in use ( job queue load data shows no immediate need for paint ) smart pump 22 operates in flow mode . a : preset frequency setting is equal to the low flow rate required to maintain the specified minimum paint velocity . the smart bpr 25 is fully unloaded ( de - activated ). the system operates at the lowest recommended flow rate with the only pressure being that required to overcome the paint line pressure loss . therefore paint shear , energy usage and pump wear are at a minimum . material will be needed shortly ( before color will be required at the applicators ). information is automatically provided by the job queue load data . the smart bpr 25 is activated to provide the pre - set system pressure . the smart pump 22 is switched to pressure mode . the pressure setting is preset and the controller 26 will operate the smart pump 22 in accordance with the control loop according to the pressure senses at the pressure sensor 24 . if the system pressure drops due to demand at the applicators 16 the bpr 25 will dynamically close in order to maintain pressure . if the bpr 25 can no longer maintain system pressure the smart pump 22 will automatically speed up , thus maintaining the pressure at the set point . the system will continue to operate in this mode until the job queue data shows that the paint material is no longer needed . the smart pump 22 is switched to flow mode . the preset frequency setting is equal to flow rate required to maintain minimum paint velocity in the line . the smart bpr is fully unloaded ( de - activated ). it will be recognised that the in the pressure mode , the control of the paint pressure at the spray booth results from a combination of the operation of the smart pump 22 and the smart bpr 25 . table 1 shows an example of how the paint flow rates provided by the smart pump 22 and through the smart bpr 25 might change as different amounts of paint are taken out through the applicators 16 . in this example there are five applicators , designated a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 and a 5 . four different rates of paint usage are shown . in condition 1 , the system has been switched into the pressure mode , but there is not yet any paint being taken out through the applicators . the smart pump provides a flow rate of 9 l / min to ensure the required paint pressure at the applicators , and all of this flow circulates around the system through the smart bpr . in condition 2 , two applicators are spraying at a rate of 2 l / min , while one is spraying at 1 l / min and the other two are not spraying . the total amount being taken out is 5 l / min . in this condition , instead of the flow through the bpr dropping to 4 l / min and the smart pump continuing to provide a flow of 9 l / min , the amount of paint circulating through the smart bpr has only dropped to 6 l / min , while the smart pump has increased its speed to provide a flow of 11 l / min . similarly in condition 3 , all the applicators are taking out 2 l / min each ( a total of 10 l / min ), while the smart pump has increased its speed to deliver 13 l / min , and the amount circulating back through the bpr has dropped to 3 l / min . this means that the smart bpr is still controlling the upstream pressure , even though the amount of paint being taken out is more than was originally being provided . the pressure of paint at the spray booth will therefore continue to be maintained by the smart bpr when there in a subsequent increase in the amount being sprayed . in condition 4 , the applicators are spraying at their maximum capacity of 3 l / min each ( a total of 15 l / min ). in this case there is no need to provide any flow through the smart bpr as there can be no further increase in the amount of paint being taken out of the system . the smart bpr therefore closes the line back to the paint tank and all the flow is provided from the smart pump ( 15 l / min ).

1Performing Operations; Transporting

a major factor behind research and development in internal combustion engines is the desire to improve fuel consumption while , at the same time , reducing emissions . in the case of spark ignited internal combustion engines , in particular alternative load control methods are recommended to increase the part - load efficiency . the most important development trends concern the stratified direct fuel injection engine , which , with the aid of quality control , moves the spark ignited internal combustion engine principle closer to the spontaneously igniting internal combustion engine principle ( diesel engine ). this is made possible by the variable valve gear combined with residual gas strategies , which are intended to limit charge exchange losses . both methods theoretically promise major benefits but are thwarted in one case by the expensive after - treatment of the exhaust gas from the super - stoichiometric mix and in the other case by the limited residual gas compatibility of spark ignited internal combustion engines . the ideal is a link between these two methods : a quality - controlled internal combustion engine with high residual gas content and spontaneous ignition , which on account of homogenous combustion in super - stoichiometric operation emits very little if any nitrogen oxide . one factor of homogeneous combustion methods is the spontaneous ignition time , which is determined by the temperature or mix composition . if the required charging temperatures are obtained with the aid of exhaust - gas retention , more specifically by means of the parameters exhaust - gas temperature and quantity , the combustion location of the cycle n is dependent on the preceding cycle ( n − 1 ); the required spontaneous ignition temperature is not reached in extreme circumstances . the combustion location for its part is the determining factor for the target variables of the internal combustion engine and therefore must have values which are defined as a function of load and engine speed . it is the object of the present invention to provide ways of implementing changes in exhaust - gas quantity and temperature as they are required during a change of the operating point within part - load operation in which ignition combustion takes place without adversely affecting the combustion . exhaust - gas retention can in principle be achieved with the aid of suitable valve control times . this requires firstly early closing of the exhaust valve , in order to keep the required quantity of residual exhaust gas in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine . to prevent the hot exhaust gas from flowing back into the induction pipe , with ensuing cooling effects and charge losses , the opening of the intake valve is delayed . however , this concept cannot be applied to conventional spark ignited internal combustion engines without further measures . if the valve closure overlap is made sufficiently variable , the first control concept for this form of providing the required temperature is obtained . the requirement for an independent high - pressure part and therefore optimum charging in this case , however , requires the use of a fully variable valve drive mechanism with which valve opening and closing times can be adjusted independently of one another . with conventional camshafts the setting of a defined exhaust - gas retention rate is generally performed by the camshaft controllers which are already in widespread use . as an undesirable side - effect , with a rigid cam contour , the angle at which the valve opens changes with the angle at which the valve closes , which leads to charging and efficiency losses and not least to a restricted operating range in terms of load and engine speed . in addition to the control of the temperature at the end of compression with the aid of the exhaust - gas retention rate or quantity , the use of the direct fuel injection and the operation of the internal combustion engine with excess air also influences the operating gas temperature and / or the mix composition of the fuel . the effect of the direct injection can in this case be divided into two mechanisms : firstly , a thermal effect , which provides an increase in the exhaust - gas temperature as a result of the conversion of the pre - injected fuel , and secondly a preconditioning of the fuel , which increases the reactivity of the latter and therefore influences the integral ignition delay . to determine the influence of the engine speed on the compression ignition combustion , starting from a reference point of the internal combustion engine ( 2000 rpm and 3 bar p mi ), the engine speed is increased with otherwise constant boundary conditions . fig1 shows the air supply , the 50 % conversion and the indicated mean effective pressure as a function of the engine speed . initially , the supply of air remains undifferentiated , since the combustion chamber charge only decreases significantly at high engine speeds . the combustion position fluctuates with the variation in the air supply and ultimately shifts in the early direction at high engine speeds . the indicated mean effective pressure initially rises by the same amount by which the charge exchange work decreases , as evidenced by the indicated charge exchange mean effective pressure . only if the combustion location is too early and therefore unfavorable in terms of efficiency does the indicated mean effective pressure drop with an increase in the engine speed . with increasing engine speed , more exhaust gas remains in the combustion chamber , as evidenced by the rising maximum pressure in the intermediate compression that can be seen from fig2 . moreover , the lower wall heat transfer results in higher exhaust - gas temperatures . the higher pressure level in the intermediate compression leads to a rising backflow of exhaust gas into the induction pipe when the intake valve opens . this backflow manifests itself as an increase in the induction pipe pressure , as can be seen from fig3 . at the same time , a reflected excess pressure wave occurs near to the time at which the intake valve closes . its maximum , with the engine configuration shown at an engine speed of approx . 2400 to 2500 rpm , lies precisely at the point at which the intake valve is closed and therefore leads to a dynamic recharging effect , which makes it possible to understand the profile of the air supply in fig1 . the fact that the combustion is considerably affected by such events , which tend to appear unimportant during part - load operation of spark ignited internal combustion engines , is important . this needs to be taken into account when designing the air induction system . if , at the selected reference point of 2000 rpm and 3 bar p mi and a constant injection mass , the phase positions of intake and exhaust camshaft are now altered , the effect of primary influencing parameters , such as for example the valve control times , will be immediately apparent . fig4 diagrammatically depicts the combustion location as a function of intake and exhaust phase . accordingly , an adjustment of the exhaust valve in the exhaust phase toward early causes a shift in the combustion location in the early direction . a retarded intake phase likewise leads to a shift in the combustion toward early to approximately the same extent . in the event of simultaneous adjustment of the phase locations , the effect is doubled . therefore , the control times of intake and exhaust valves should not be considered separately from one another , but rather have an influence on one another . if the crankshaft angle - based indexing data as shown in the diagram illustrated in fig5 are considered , it will be possible to explain the shift in the combustion location . the figure illustrates the rise in the cylinder pressure during the intermediate compression with earlier closing of the exhaust valve . because of the higher residual gas content , the gas temperature in the compression phase rises , and accordingly combustion begins earlier . however , the increase in the maximum pressure at the gas exchange dead center is relatively low compared to a shift in the closing of the exhaust valve of a fully variable valve drive . on account of the rigid cam contour , earlier closing of the exhaust valve also leads to a shift in the opening angle of the exhaust valve , cutting off the expansion . with the opening of the valves at an ever higher back pressure , already in this phase more exhaust gas flows out of the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine . there are two limit scenarios for the shift in the intake phase , as can be seen from fig6 . on the one hand , exhaust gas flows back out of the combustion chamber into the induction pipe if the intake valve opens too early . this leads to an excessive rise in pressure in the induction pipe and to a decrease in pressure in the combustion chamber . the other limit situation results from the intake valve closing too late . in this case , charge losses occur since part of the cylinder charge which has just been drawn into the cylinder is discharged , which leads to a reduction in the effective compression . fig7 diagrammatically depicts an engine speed change strategy only with the aid of the phase locations of the two camshafts , without altering the indicated mean effective pressure . the wall heat transfer per working cycle , which drops as the engine speed rises , leads to an increased temperature level in the internal combustion engine . to keep the combustion location constant , consequently , more exhaust gas can be discharged from the combustion chamber , i . e . the valve closure overlap can be reduced . the improvement in efficiency brought about by the decreasing wall heat losses has to be compensated for by a reduction in the fuel injection quantity . in this case , it is not really reasonable to keep the indicated load constant under real driving conditions by the friction mean effective pressure which rises with the engine speed . in the event of a change in engine speed , a change in the valve closure overlap can be realized by the hydraulic camshaft actuators , since this operation is relatively slow .

5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting

[ 0026 ] fig1 is cross - sectional side schematic view of an illustrative wafer processing system 100 that operates in accordance with the present invention . the wafer processing system 100 is particularly adapted to vacuum process workpieces , such as silicon wafers , for integrated circuits of the very large system integration ( vlsi ) type . regulation of the dry etch chemical processes performed in the chamber , the sequence of those processes , and the transfer of the wafers to the chamber is controlled by a general purpose computer with associated memory , control circuitry and driver circuitry , and an operator interface in the form of a controller 102 . the wafer processing system 100 comprises a processing chamber 104 with an entry slit 106 ( e . g ., a slit valve ) for the insertion and removal of a workpiece , for example , a silicon wafer 108 . the chamber 104 houses a support pedestal 110 upon which the wafer is retained . the pedestal 110 generally comprises a chuck 112 ( either electrostatic or mechanical ) for physically retaining the wafer and a cathode 114 for supporting the chuck and biasing the wafer . an rf excitation source 118 ( e . g ., 13 . 56 mhz ) is also electrically connected to the pedestal 110 which acts as a cathode . the cathode can be biased by a dc bias source 116 regulated by the controller 102 to influence the ion energy of the plasma gas in chamber 104 . the ion energy ranges between 5 and 10 ev and is typically determined by the self bias of the plasma in contact with the wafer surface . preferably , the plasma is a high density quasi remote fluorine plasma . the control of process gas flow , in the preferred example sf 6 via source 120 , is provided by a flow control valve 122 under regulation of the controller 102 . the sf 6 flow rate is typically in the range of 30 to 180 standard cubic centimeters per minute ( sccm ). the dome 132 enclosing the top of the process chamber 104 supports a set of coils ( an antenna ) which form an rf radiating element 134 . the element 134 is coupled to an rf power source 124 ( e . g ., 13 . 56 mhz ) also regulated by controller 102 for the purpose of ionizing the process gas in the chamber 104 . the high density plasma may be sustained using the rf radiating element 134 only . the rf power applied to the radiating element 134 is typically between 50 and 900 watts . power may be applied to the cathode 114 for short periods of time ( approximately 6 seconds ) during breakthrough steps . the temperature of the cathode 114 is typically between 20 and 65 ° c . additional heating of the chamber may be provided by infra - red heating elements located above the dome 132 within the dome temperature control unit ( dtcu ) 136 . the chamber 104 and associated processing equipment is preferably embodied by a metal etch decoupled plasma source ( dps ) chamber manufactured by applied materials of santa clara , calif . a dome temperature control enclosure and apparatus of the metal etch dps chamber is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 767 , 071 , filed dec . 16 , 1996 and is herein incorporated by reference . an etch depth measuring system of the metal etch dps chamber is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 944 , 240 , filed oct . 6 , 1997 and is herein incorporated by reference . the controller 102 receives feedback on the process parameters through a series of sensors and measurement devices including a temperature sensor 140 which provides a temperature signal to it indicative of cathode temperature , and a pressure sensor 142 which provides a pressure signal indicative of the chamber pressure . the wafer processing system 100 includes an etch rate measurement system 144 comprising a source 130 and detector 128 operating in conjunction with an etch rate processing routine 138 that is executed on a computer such as the controller 102 . the source 130 is preferably a mercury lamp generating light in the uv range while the detector 128 is a photodiode or photomultiplier tube sensitive to uv radiation . the source light is guided through an optical fiber 146 onto a mirror 148 . the source light is directed by the mirror 148 to the surface of the wafer 108 through a lens 150 which focuses it on a small portion of the surface . preferably , the spot diameter is approximately 25 mm . in order to cover more than one die on the wafer surface . the source light is then reflected from the surface and refocused on the mirror 148 by lens 150 . the reflected light passes back through optical fiber 146 to a filter in the detector 128 . the filter allows light within a narrow band of wavelengths ( λ ) to pass . for example a band pass filter that transmits a narrow band centered on λ = 254 nm with a full width at half maximum ( fwhm ) of 2 nm may be used . the light transmitted by the filter is , thus , approximately monochromatic . interference of the reflected light can therefore by readily observed at the detector 128 . the interference is due to first and second portions of the reflected light being out of phase because of the difference in travel time due to one part reflecting off the top of a feature ( trench ) on the wafer and the other part reflecting off the bottom of a feature . the detector 128 senses the filtered reflected light and transduces it into an electrical signal . the interference signal sent to the controller 102 is more fully shown in fig2 . it can be readily shown that the depth change in a feature ( trench ) that corresponds between two maxima , or two minima , is λ / 2 ( or 127 nm when λ = 254 nm ). therefore , measuring the elapsed time between two depths , ( i . e ., the time between two conjugate points , i . e . two maxima or two minima , points on the waveform of fig2 ) allows for the calculation of the average etch rate between the two points . when calculating the etch rate for all pairs of extrema ( minima and maxima ), the etch rate change as a function of time for etching deeper into the structure can be determined . as the depth of the trench increases , the etch rate generally decreases . it is noted from the interference signal that normally for constant process parameters , the time between extrema increases , indicating a decreasing etch rate with increasing etch depth . the rate of change in the frequency indicates the rate of change of the etch rate . although normally the frequency decreases with etch depth , arde may cause other variations in etch rate due to an aspect ratio change as the etch progresses . for example , in inverse rie ( inverse arde ) etch rate increases with increasing depth . [ 0031 ] fig3 is a flow diagram of the process of controlling etch rate for the system illustrated in fig1 where in block a 10 the process parameters of the system are initialized . the controller 102 brings the chamber up to processing temperature and pressure and controls the flow rate of processing gas into the chamber , the initial bias is set on the cathode 114 and the rf power supplies 118 and 120 controlled to initiate plasma conditions within the chamber 104 . the etch rate measurement system 144 is then activated in block a 12 to measure the actual etch rate for the process . once the actual etch rate has been determined and stored , the controller 102 will determine from an etch rate profile for the particular process and the operating parameters , including time , temperature and process gas flow rate , the desired etch rate . the actual etch rate is compared in block a 16 to the stored profile of the desired etch rate of the process and an error is calculated . alternatively , an average etch rate profile can be calculated from measured etch rate profiles for many wafers ( e . g ., several hundred ) having a given set of process parameters and stored , for example , in the controller 102 . the etch rate processing routine then processes subsequent wafers by comparing the stored profile of the average etch rate to the stored profile of the desired etch rate in block a 16 to calculate the etch rate error . the etch rate error is tested in block a 18 for its sign , i . e ., whether the actual etch rate of the process is too fast or too slow . for a too fast etch rate ( sign positive ) the program continues at block a 22 and block a 24 where one or more etch rate parameters which increase etch rate are decremented , or alternatively , one or more process parameters which decrease etch rate are incremented . for a too slow etch rate ( sign negative ) the program continues at block a 20 and block a 26 where one or more etch rate parameters which increase etch rate are incremented , or alternatively , one or more process parameters which decrease etch rate are decremented . to better understand the dependence of etch rate on the variance of the process parameters of the system illustrated in fig1 a series of process runs a - i were made using differing values for the process parameters of process gas flow , chamber pressure , source power , and cathode temperature . the etch rate was measured in situ using the interferometric measurement system described . fig4 - 8 will now be more fully described to disclose the results of those test runs . [ 0035 ] fig4 pictorially illustrates the geometry of the features used in the test runs a - i after etching to a final depth of z = 1000 nm . the features 50 are essentially holes in the shape of a pyramidal frustum having a rectangular cross - section that is reduced at larger depths z . this results in a reduction of the open area during the etch and has been taken into account in the data analysis . these features were chosen for their large aspect ratio which produces considerable arde , i . e ., as the etch progresses the aspect ratio changes and causes a substantial change in etch rate . a cross - section of one of the features 50 is shown in fig5 . a silicon wafer 52 has been manufactured with a deep trench 54 filled with arsenic doped polysilicon 56 . the trench 54 has thin side walls of oxynitride 58 and the top of the silicon 52 is covered by a nitride layer 60 . this configuration was used to determine if etch rate and the wafer processing system could be improved for selective etching , i . e ., it was desired that the etch process be very selective to the top nitride layer and the sidewall oxynitride . the tests achieved selectivities of 200 : 1 between polysilicon 56 in the trenches 54 and the top nitride layer 60 with sf 6 plasma and without power applied to the cathode , i . e ., using antenna power only . [ 0037 ] fig7 a - 7 i illustrate normalized etch rates ( instantaneous etch rate divided by starting etch rate for a flat wafer ) as a function of the aspect ratio for nine different sets of process conditions . the values of the particular process parameters for each example is set forth in the table illustrated in fig6 . the slope of a least squares fit through the data points is a measure of the rie lag effect . as can be seen in fig7 a - 7 i , the rie lag effect differs significantly for different process parameter values . example c indicates an inverse rie lag which , however , is not usually observed unless the etch process is accompanied by a deposition process , which is believed highly unlikely for the illustrated silicon etch with a fluorine chemistry . it is believed the inverse rie lag in example c is an artifact and that the rie lag for this example is more likely close to zero for this process run . [ 0038 ] fig8 a - 8 d show rie lag ( as given by the slopes of fig7 a - 7 i ) as a function of the four different process parameters of source power , chamber pressure , cathode temperature and process gas flow . the error bars in the figures illustrate the scatter of data points of fig7 a - 7 i . these figures reveal that the chamber pressure and cathode temperature influence rie lag strongly . for higher pressure ( 20 m torr ) and lower cathode temperature ( 20 deg c . ), the rie lag is reduced and close to zero when averaging the data points . it is believed that the strong influence of the chamber pressure and cathode temperature on rie lag is predicted by the knudsen transport model . the knudsen transport model divides the incoming flux of etch species ( e . g ., fluorine ) on top of the structure ν t into a first portion of neutrals that are reflected out of the feature without reaching the etch front ( 1 − k ) ν t , and a second portion that reaches the etch front but does not react k ( 1 − s ) ν b . here , k is the transmission probability for the feature , s is the reaction probability and ν b is the flux of etch species at the bottom of the feature . the incoming flux also includes a third portion , namely that portion of etch species which reaches the etch front and does react sν b . the transmission probability k is dependent on the geometry of the feature . the value of k for round pipes or slit like tubes can be found in standard vacuum technology references such as a users guide to vacuum technology , j . f . o &# 39 ; hanlon ; john wiley & amp ; sons , new york , 1989 , pp . 36 - 37 , or scientific foundations of vacuum technique , second edition , s . dushman , j . m . lafferty ; john wiley & amp ; sons , new york , 1962 , p . 94 , both of which are incorporated herein by reference . the three portions balance according to the equation : sν b = ν t −( 1 − k ) ν t − k ( 1 − s ) ν b ( eq . 1 ). the model assumes that the etch rate will be proportional to the flux of fluorine atoms ( the ionic component is neglected ). therefore , the relative change of the etch rate for a certain aspect ratio z / d can be expressed as : here z is the depth of the feature and d is the width . r ( 0 ) is , therefore , the etch rate at the bottom of a feature having either zero depth or infinite width and is proportional to ν t . r ( z / d ) is the etch rate at the bottom of a feature having depth z and width d and is proportional to ν b . the fit parameter in eq . 2 is the reaction probability s , which is generally unknown for the given etch conditions . if this parameter can be determined for given set of experimental conditions , a theoretical value of the normalized etch rate r ( z / d )/ r ( 0 ) can be determined from equation 2 for all values of z / d for those experimental conditions . a reaction probability s of 0 . 00168 has been reported for fluorine atoms at 23 ° c . with an undoped single crystal of silicon at a pressure range of several torr ( see d . l . flamm , v . m . donelly , j . a . mucha ; journal of applied physics , 52 ( 1981 ) 3633 incorporated herein by reference ). [ 0042 ] fig9 shows a graph 900 of theoretical and experimental dependence of the normalized etch rate r ( z / d )/ r ( 0 ) on aspect ratio z / d using k values for a round tube . the normalized etch rate is plotted along a vertical axis 901 and aspect ratio is plotted along a horizontal axis 903 . the theoretical dependence has an upper limit given by s = 0 . 00168 . an upper curve 902 bounds a first shaded region 904 . the first shaded region 904 indicates values of the normalized etch rate that are larger than possible under the knudsen transport model . note that curve 902 indicates that almost no rie lag would be present for a reaction probability of 0 . 00168 . a lower curve 906 has been calculated for a reaction probability s = 1 , which is the upper limit for rie lag due to the knudsen effect . a stronger decline in etch rate with increasing aspect ratio than that indicated by a lower curve 906 cannot be explained solely by knudsen transport . thus a second shaded region 908 indicates values for the normalized etch rate that are too small to be possible under the knudsen model . acceptable values lie in an unshaded region 910 that lies between the upper and lower curves 902 and 906 . the circles 912 in fig9 represent data points from experiment ( e ) and the triangles 914 represent data points from experiment ( h ). the data points lie substantially within the unshaded region 910 . these data points can be fitted using eq . 2 resulting in reaction probabilities of 0 . 03 and 0 . 11 for experiments ( e ) and ( h ) respectively . in these fits the change in the open area of the feature due to the taper angle of the structures has been taken into account . excluding experiment ( c ), which shows a reverse rie lag , all other experimental runs gave reaction probabilities of between 0 . 03 and 0 . 11 . once a reaction probability has been established for a given set of experimental conditions , an expected etch rate can be calculated . one consequence of the knudsen model is that the rie lag depends mainly on the reaction probability and , hence , on surface coverage . this is why a reduced rie lag effect is observed for experiments at high pressure and / or lower cathode temperature . for these conditions , the surface coverage is larger and the transport of the neutrals is no longer a limiting factor . the dependence of the rie lag on process gas flow and source power are less clear . when averaging the data points for the same value of one of the parameters , either source power or process gas flow , only a weak dependence is obtained . source power and process gas flow have , however , a strong impact on the silicon etch rate . further , the rie lag shows a strong correlation with the quotient of chamber pressure divided by cathode temperature , while the silicon etch rate shows a dependence on the product of the source power and process gas flow . the latter can be readily explained by the fact that the silicon etch rate is determined by the fluorine atom supply at the etch front . for high process gas flows and source powers , this effect levels out indicating a fluorine saturation at the etch front . this data , and other similarly derived empirical information , can be used to formulate the desired etch rate schedule used in the closed loop control described for fig1 . such schedules are then stored as functions or look up tables which the controller 102 uses to determine the desired etch rate for the process under consideration at the time . different processes will use different parameters to advantage , with strongly influencing parameters such as process gas flow and cathode temperature being used for gross or overall control , or for fast correction , and secondary parameters perhaps being used for close tolerances and slower changes . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , this specification is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth , but , on the contrary , it is intended to cover any such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .

7Electricity

unless otherwise indicated , the term alkyl or “ lower ” alkyl , as used herein , denotes branched or unbranched hydrocarbon chains , preferably having about 1 to about 8 carbons , such as , methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , iso - propyl , n - butyl , sec - butyl , iso - butyl , tert - butyl , 2 - methylpentyl pentyl , hexyl , isohexyl , heptyl , 4 , 4 - dimethyl pentyl , octyl , 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylpentyl and the like , which lower alkyl group may be optionally substituted with one , two , three or more functional groups which are attached commonly to such chains , such as , hydroxyl , bromo , fluoro , chloro , iodo , mercapto or thio , cyano , alkylthio , heterocyclyl , aryl , heteroaryl , carboxyl , carbalkoyl , alkyl , alkenyl , nitro , amino , alkoxyl , amido , and the like to form alkyl groups such as trifluoromethyl , 3 - hydroxyhexyl , 2 - carboxypropyl , 2 - fluoroethyl , carboxymethyl , cyanobutyl and the like . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ aryl ” or “ ar ” as employed herein alone or as part of another group refers to monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic groups containing 6 to 10 carbons in the ring portion ( such as phenyl or naphthyl including 1 - naphthyl and 2 - naphthyl ) and may optionally include one to three additional rings fused to a carbocyclic ring or a heterocyclic ring ( such as aryl , cycloalkyl , heteroaryl or cycloheteroalkyl rings ), for example the aryl group may be optionally substituted with one , two , three or more functional groups , such as halo , haloalkyl , alkyl , haloalkyl , alkoxy , haloalkoxy , alkenyl , trifluoromethyl , trifluoromethoxy , alkynyl , cycloalkylalkyl , cycloheteroalkyl , cycloheteroalkylalkyl , aryl , heteroaryl , arylalkyl , aryloxy , aryloxyalkyl , arylalkoxy , alkoxycarbonyl , arylcarbonyl , arylalkenyl , aminocarbonylaryl , arylthio , arylsulfinyl , arylazo , heteroarylalkyl , heteroarylalkenyl , heteroarylheteroaryl , heteroaryloxy , hydroxy , nitro , cyano , amino , substituted amino wherein the amino includes 1 or 2 substituents ( which are alkyl , aryl or any of the other aryl compounds mentioned in the definitions ), thiol , alkylthio , arylthio , heteroarylthio , arylthioalkyl , alkoxyarylthio , alkylcarbonyl , arylcarbonyl , alkylaminocarbonyl , arylaminocarbonyl , alkoxycarbonyl , aminocarbonyl , alkylcarbonyloxy , arylcarbonyloxy , alkylcarbonylamino , arylcarbonylamino , arylsulfinyl , arylsulfinylalkyl , arylsulfonylamino or arylsulfonaminocarbonyl and / or any of the alkyl substituents set out herein . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ cycloalkyl ” as employed herein alone or as part of another group includes saturated or partially unsaturated ( containing 1 or 2 double bonds ) cyclic hydrocarbon groups containing 1 to 3 rings , including monocyclic alkyl , bicyclic alkyl ( or bicycloalkyl ) and tricyclic alkyl ( tricycloalkyl ), containing a total of 3 to 20 carbons forming the ring , preferably 3 to 10 carbons , forming the ring and which may be fused to 1 or 2 aromatic rings as described for aryl , which includes cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl , cyclooctyl , cyclodecyl and cyclododecyl , cyclohexenyl , adamantyl , any of which groups may be optionally substituted with 1 to 4 substituents such as halogen , alkyl , alkoxy , hydroxy , aryl , aryloxy , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , hydroxyalkyl , alkylamido , alkanoylamino , oxo , acyl , arylcarbonylamino , amino , nitro , cyano , thiol and / or alkylthio and / or any of the substituents for alkyl . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ lower alkenyl ” or “ alkenyl ” as used herein by itself or as part of another group refers to straight or branched chain radicals of 2 to 20 carbons , preferably 2 to 12 carbons , and more preferably 1 to 8 carbons in the normal chain , which include one to six double bonds in the normal chain , such as vinyl , 2 - propenyl , 3 - butenyl , 2 - butenyl , 4 - pentenyl , 3 - pentenyl , 2 - hexenyl , 3 - hexenyl , 2 - heptenyl , 3 - heptenyl , 4 - heptenyl , 3 - octenyl , 3 - nonenyl , 4 - decenyl , 3 - undecenyl , 4 - dodecenyl , 4 , 8 , 12 - tetradecatrienyl , and the like , and which may be optionally substituted with 1 to 4 substituents , namely , halogen , haloalkyl , alkyl , alkoxy , alkenyl , alkynyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , amino , hydroxy , heteroaryl , cycloheteroalkyl , alkanoylamino , alkylamido , arylcarbonyl - amino , nitro , cyano , thiol , alkylthio and / or any of the alkyl substituents set out herein . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ lower alkynyl ” or “ alkynyl ” as used herein by itself or as part of another group refers to straight or branched chain radicals of 2 to 20 carbons , preferably 2 to 12 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons in the normal chain , which include one triple bond in the normal chain , such as 2 - propynyl , 3 - butynyl , 2 - butynyl , 4 - pentynyl , 3 - pentynyl , 2 - hexynyl , 3 - hexynyl , 2 - heptynyl , 3 - heptynyl , 4 - heptynyl , 3 - octynyl , 3 - nonynyl , 4 - decynyl , 3 - undecynyl , 4 - dodecynyl and the like , and which may be optionally substituted with 1 to 4 substituents , namely , halogen , haloalkyl , alkyl , alkoxy , alkenyl , alkynyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , amino , heteroaryl , cycloheteroalkyl , hydroxy , alkanoylamino , alkylamido , arylcarbonylamino , nitro , cyano , thiol , and / or alkylthio , and / or any of the alkyl substituents set out herein . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ cycloheteroalkyl ” as used herein alone or as part of another group refers to a 5 -, 6 - or 7 - membered saturated or partially unsaturated ring which includes 1 to 2 hetero atoms such as nitrogen , oxygen and / or sulfur , linked through a carbon atom or a heteroatom , where possible , optionally via the linker ( ch 2 ) r ( where r is 1 , 2 or 3 ), such as : and the like . the above groups may include 1 to 4 substituents such as alkyl , halo , oxo and / or any of the alkyl substituents set out herein . in addition , any of the cycloheteroalkyl rings can be fused to a cycloalkyl , aryl , heteroaryl or cycloheteroalkyl ring . unless otherwise indicated , the term “ heteroaryl ” as used herein alone or as part of another group refers to a 5 - or 6 - membered aromatic ring which includes 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 hetero atoms such as nitrogen , oxygen or sulfur , and such rings fused to an aryl , cycloalkyl , heteroaryl or cycloheteroalkyl ring ( e . g . benzothiophenyl , indolyl ), and includes possible n - oxides . the heteroaryl group may optionally include 1 to 4 substituents such as any of the substituents set out above for alkyl . examples of heteroaryl groups include the following : the term “ cycloheteroalkylalkyl ” as used herein alone or as part of another group refers to cycloheteroalkyl groups as defined above linked through a c atom or heteroatom to a ( ch 2 ) r chain . the term “ heteroarylalkyl ” or “ heteroarylalkenyl ” as used herein alone or as part of another group refers to a heteroaryl group as defined above linked through a c atom or heteroatom to a —( ch 2 ) r — chain , alkylene or alkenylene as defined above . in carrying out the process of the invention , the strong organometallic base will be employed in a molar ratio to the ester compound i within the range from about 3 : 1 to about 6 . 5 : 1 , preferably from about 5 . 0 : 1 to about 6 . 2 : 1 , and the amine iii will be employed in a molar ratio to ester compound i within the range from about 4 : 1 to about 7 . 3 : 1 , preferably from about 5 . 5 : 1 to about 7 : 1 . the ratio of amine m to the organometallic base will be in the range of 1 . 1 to 1 . 2 . the strong organometallic base will preferably be an alkyllithium base , such as hexyllithium or n - butyllithium although other strong organometallic bases may be employed such as lithium hexamethyldisilazane , lithium diisopropyl amide , sodium diisopropylamide , or potassium diisopropylamide . furthermore , trimethylaluminium can also be employed as an organometallic base . organic solvents which may be employed in forming a mixture of the strong organometallic base and amine iii include , but are not limited to , tetrahydrofuran , methylene chloride , 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethanol , and hexanes with tetrahydrofuran being preferred . similar organic solvents as set above may be employed in forming a suspension of the ester compound i , although the ester compound may be employed without a solvent . it is preferred that the ester compound i be employed as a suspension in an organic solvent which is the same solvent employed for the strong organometallic base . the starting ester compound i may be prepared in accordance with the following reaction sequence : the intermediate c is prepared by the amidation of 4 - methyl - 3 - nitrobenzoyl chloride ( a ) with cyclopropylamine followed by catalytic reduction and hydrogen chloride salt formation to obtain the intermediate c . and is followed by condensation of e 2 with formamide and acid catalyzed cyclization yielding intermediate d . chlorination of d yields the intermediate e . a full disclosure of the above process is disclosed in u . s . application ser . no . 10 / 420 , 399 filed apr . 22 , 2003 which is incorporated herein by reference . the amide compound of formula ii is a selective inhibitor of p38 kinase activity , and in particular , isoforms p38α and p38β . accordingly , amide ii has utility in treating conditions associated with p38 kinase activity . such conditions include diseases in which cytokine levels are modulated as a consequence of intracellular signaling via p38 , and in particular , diseases that are associated with an overproduction of cytokines 1l - 1 , l - 4 , il - 8 , and tnf - α . as used herein , the terms “ treating ” or “ treatment ” encompass either or both responsive and prophylaxis measures , e . g ., measures designed to inhibit or delay the onset of the disease or disorder , achieve a full or partial reduction of the symptoms or disease state , and / or to alleviate , ameliorate , lessen , or cure the disease or disorder and / or its symptoms . when reference is made herein to inhibition of “ p - 38α / β kinase ,” this means that either p38α and / or p38β kinase are inhibited . thus , reference to an ic 50 value for inhibiting p - 38α / β kinase means that the compound has such effectiveness for inhibiting at least one of , or both of , p38α and p38β kinases . in view of its activity as an inhibitor of p - 384 kinase , amide compound ii is useful in treating p - 38 associated conditions including , but not limited to , inflammatory diseases , autoimmune diseases , destructive bone disorders , proliferative disorders , angiogenic disorders , infectious diseases , neurodegenerative diseases , and viral diseases . more particularly , the specific conditions or diseases that may be treated with the amide compound ii includes , without limitation , pancreatitis ( acute or chronic ), asthma , allergies , adult respiratory distress syndrome , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , glomerulonephritis , rheumatoid arthritis , systemic lupus erythematosis , scleroderma , chronic thyroiditis , grave &# 39 ; s disease , autoimmune gastritis , diabetes , autoimmune hemolytic anemia , autoimmune neutropenia , thrombocytopenia , atopic dermatitis , chronic active hepatitis , myasthenia gravis , multiple sclerosis , inflammatory bowel disease , ulcerative colitis , crohn &# 39 ; s disease , psoriasis , graft vs . host disease , inflammatory reaction induced by endotoxin , tuberculosis , atherosclerosis , muscle degeneration , cachexia , psoriatic arthritis , reiter &# 39 ; s syndrome , gout , traumatic arthritis , rubella arthritis , acute synovitis , pancreatic β - cell disease ; diseases characterized by massive neutrophil infiltration ; rheumatoid spondylitis , gouty arthritis and other arthritic conditions , cerebral malaria , chronic pulmonary inflammatory disease , silicosis , pulmonary sarcoisosis , bone resorption disease , allograft rejections , fever and myalgias due to infection , cachexia secondary to infection , meloid formation , scar tissue formation , ulcerative colitis , pyresis , influenza , osteoporosis , osteoarthritis and multiple myeloma - related bone disorder , acute myelogenous leukemia , chronic myelogenous leukemia , metastatic melanoma , kaposi &# 39 ; s sarcoma , multiple myeloma , sepsis , septic shock , and shigellosis ; alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , cerebral ischemias or neurodegenerative disease caused by traumatic injury ; angiogenic disorders including solid tumors , ocular neovasculization , and infantile haemangiomas ; viral diseases including acute hepatitis infection ( including hepatitis a , hepatitis b and hepatitis c ), hiv infection and cmv retinitis , aids , arc or malignancy , and herpes ; stroke , myocardial ischemia , ischemia in stroke heart attacks , organ hyposia , vascular hyperplasia , cardiac and renal reperfusion injury , thrombosis , cardiac hypertrophy , thrombin - induced platelet aggregation , endotoxemia and / or toxic shock syndrome , and conditions associated with prostaglandin endoperoxidase syndase - 2 . in addition , the amide compound ii p38 inhibitor inhibits the expression of inducible pro - inflammatory proteins such as prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase - 2 ( pghs - 2 ), also referred to as cyclooxygenase - 2 ( cox - 2 ). accordingly , additional p38 - associated conditions include edema , analgesia , fever and pain , such as neuromuscular pain , headache , pain caused by cancer , dental pain and arthritis pain . the amide ii also may be used to treat veterinary viral infections , such as lentivirus infections , including , but not limited to equine infectious anemia virus ; or retro virus infections , including feline immunodeficiency virus , bovine immunodeficiency virus , and canine immunodeficiency virus . when the terms “ p38 associated condition ” or “ p38 associated disease or disorder ” are used herein , each is intended to encompass all of the conditions identified above as if repeated at length , as well as any other condition that is affected by p38 kinase activity . the methods of treating p38 kinase - associated conditions may comprise administering amide ii alone or in combination with each other and / or other suitable agents useful in treating such conditions . exemplary of such other therapeutic agents include corticosteroids , rolipram , calphostin , csaids , 4 - substituted imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] quinoxalines as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 200 , 750 ; interleukin - 10 , glucocorticoids , salicylates , nitric oxide , and other immunosuppressants ; nuclear translocation inhibitors , such as deoxyspergualin ( dsg ); non - steroidal antiinflammatory drugs ( nsaids ) such as ibuprofen , celecoxib and rofecoxib ; steroids such as prednisone or dexamethasone ; antiviral agents such as abacavir ; antiproliferative agents such as methotrexate , lefluonomide , fk506 ( tacrolimus , prograf ); cytotoxic drugs such as azathiprine and cyclophosphamide ; tnf - α inhibitors such as tenidap , anti - tnf antibodies or soluble tnf receptor , and rapamycin ( sirolimus or rapamune ) or derivatives thereof . the above other therapeutic agents , when employed in combination with the amide ii , may be used , for example , in those amounts indicated in the physicians &# 39 ; desk reference ( pdr ) or as otherwise determined by one of ordinary skill in the art . in the methods of the present invention , such other therapeutic agent ( s ) may be administered prior to , simultaneously with , or following the administration of the inventive compounds . the amide ii may be incorporated in pharmaceutical compositions capable of treating p38 - kinase associated conditions , including tnf - α , il - 1 , and / or il - 8 mediated conditions , as described above . the compositions may optionally contain other therapeutic agents as described above , and may be formulated , for example , by employing conventional solid or liquid vehicles or diluents , as well as pharmaceutical additives of a type appropriate to the mode of desired administration ( e . g ., excipients , binders , preservatives , stabilizers , flavors , etc .) according to techniques such as those well known in the art of pharmaceutical formulation . the amide ii may be administered by any means suitable for the condition to be treated , which may depend on the need for site - specific treatment or quantity of drug to be delivered . topical administration is generally preferred for skin - related diseases , and systematic treatment preferred for cancerous or pre - cancerous conditions , although other modes of delivery are contemplated . for example , the compounds may be delivered orally , such as in the form of tablets , capsules , granules , powders , or liquid formulations including syrups ; topically , such as in the form of solutions , suspensions , gels or ointments ; sublingually ; bucally ; parenterally , such as by subcutaneous , intravenous , intramuscular or intrasternal injection or infusion techniques ( e . g ., as sterile injectable aq . or non - aq . solutions or suspensions ); nasally such as by inhalation spray ; topically , such as in the form of a cream or ointment ; rectally such as in the form of suppositories ; or liposomally . dosage unit formulations containing non - toxic , pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles or diluents may be administered . the compounds may be administered in a form suitable for immediate release or extended release . immediate release or extended release may be achieved with suitable pharmaceutical compositions or , particularly in the case of extended release , with devices such as subcutaneous implants or osmotic pumps . exemplary compositions for topical administration include a topical carrier such as plastibase ® ( mineral oil gelled with polyethylene ). exemplary compositions for oral administration include suspensions which may contain , for example , microcrystalline cellulose for imparting bulk , alginic acid or sodium alginate as a suspending agent , methylcellulose as a viscosity enhancer , and sweeteners or flavoring agents such as those known in the art ; and immediate release tablets which may contain , for example , microcrystalline cellulose , dicalcium phosphate , starch , magnesium stearate and / or lactose and / or other excipients , binders , extenders , disintegrants , diluents and lubricants such as those known in the art . the inventive compounds may also be orally delivered by sublingual and / or buccal administration , e . g ., with molded , compressed , or freeze - dried tablets . exemplary compositions may include fast - dissolving diluents such as mannitol , lactose , sucrose , and / or cyclodextrins . also included in such formulations may be high molecular weight excipients such as celluloses ( avicel ®) or polyethylene glycols ( peg ); an excipient to aid mucosal adhesion such as hydroxypropyl cellulose ( hpc ), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ( hpmc ), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose ( scmc ), and / or maleic anhydride copolymer ( e . g ., gantrez ®); and agents to control release such as polyacrylic copolymer ( e . g ., carbopol 934 ®). lubricants , glidants , flavors , coloring agents and stabilizers may also be added for ease of fabrication and use . exemplary compositions for nasal aerosol or inhalation administration include solutions which may contain , for example , benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives , absorption promoters to enhance absorption and / or bioavailability , and / or other solubilizing or dispersing agents such as those known in the art . exemplary compositions for parenteral administration include injectable solutions or suspensions which may contain , for example , suitable non - toxic , parenterally acceptable diluents or solvents , such as mannitol , 1 , 3 - butanediol , water , ringer &# 39 ; s solution , an isotonic sodium chloride solution , or other suitable dispersing or wetting and suspending agents , including synthetic mono - or diglycerides , and fatty acids , including oleic acid . exemplary compositions for rectal administration include suppositories which may contain , for example , suitable non - irritating excipients , such as cocoa butter , synthetic glyceride esters or polyethylene glycols , which are solid at ordinary temperatures but liquefy and / or dissolve in the rectal cavity to release the drug . the effective amount of amide ii may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art , and includes exemplary dosage amounts for a mammal of from about 0 . 05 to 100 mg / kg of body weight of active compound per day , which may be administered in a single dose or in the form of individual divided doses , such as from 1 to 4 times per day . it will be understood that 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 specific compound employed , the metabolic stability and length of action of that compound , the species , age , body weight , general health , sex and diet of the subject , the mode and time of administration , rate of excretion , drug combination , and severity of the particular condition . preferred subjects for treatment include animals , most preferably mammalian species such as humans , and domestic animals such as dogs , cats , horses , and the like . thus , when the term “ patient ” is used herein , this term is intended to include all subjects , most preferably mammalian species , that are affected by mediation of p38 enzyme levels . the amides ii have been tested in one or more of the assays described below and have shown activity as inhibitors of p38α / β enzymes and tnf - α . cdnas of human p38α , β and γ isozymes were cloned by pcr . these cdnas were subcloned in the pgex expression vector ( pharmacia ). gst - p38 fusion protein was expressed in e . coli and purified from bacterial pellets by affinity chromatography using glutathione agarose . p38 fusion protein was activated by incubating with constitutively active mkk6 . active p38 was separated from mkk6 by affinity chromatography . constitutively active mkk6 was generated according to raingeaud et al . [ mol . cell . biol ., 1247 - 1255 ( 1996 )]. heparinized human whole blood was obtained from healthy volunteers . peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( pbmcs ) were purified from human whole blood by ficoll - hypaque density gradient centrifugation and resuspended at a concentration of 5 × 10 6 / ml in assay medium ( rpmi medium containing 10 % fetal bovine serum ). 50 ul of cell suspension was incubated with 50 ul of test compound ( 4 × concentration in assay medium containing 0 . 2 % dmso ) in 96 - well tissue culture plates for 5 minutes at rt . 100 ul of lps ( 200 ng / ml stock ) was then added to the cell suspension and the plate was incubated for 6 hours at 37 ° c . following incubation , the culture medium was collected and stored at − 20 ° c . tnf - α concentration in the medium was quantified using a standard elisa kit ( pharmingen - san diego , calif .). concentrations of tnf - α and ic 50 values for test compounds ( concentration of compound that inhibited lps - stimulated tnf - α production by 50 %) were calculated by linear regression analysis . the assays were performed in v - bottomed 96 - well plates . the final assay volume was 60 μl prepared from three 20 μl additions of enzyme , substrates ( mbp and atp ) and test compounds in assay buffer ( 50 mm tris ph 7 . 5 , 10 mm mgcl 2 , 50 mm nacl and 1 mm dtt ). bacterially expressed , activated p38 was pre - incubated with test compounds for 10 min . prior to initiation of reaction with substrates . the reaction was incubated at 25 ° c . for 45 min . and terminated by adding 5 μl of 0 . 5 m edta to each sample . the reaction mixture was aspirated onto a pre - wet filtermat using a skatron micro96 cell harvester ( skatron , inc . ), then washed with pbs . the filtermat was then dried in a microwave oven for 1 min ., treated with meltillex a scintillation wax ( wallac ), and counted on a microbeta scintillation counter model 1450 ( wallac ). inhibition data were analyzed by nonlinear least - squares regression using prizm ( graphpadsoftware ). the final concentration of reagents in the assays are atp , 1 μm ; [ γ - 33 p ] atp , 3 nm ,; mbp ( sigma , # m1891 ), 2 μg / well ; p38 , 10 nm ; and dmso , 0 . 3 %. mice ( balb / c female , 6 - 8 weeks of age , harlan labs ; n = 8 / treatment group ) were injected intraperitoneally with 50ug / kg lipopolysaccharide ( lps ; e coli strain 0111 : b4 , sigma ) suspended in sterile saline . ninety minutes later , mice were sedated by co 2 : o 2 inhalation and a blood sample was obtained . serum was separated and analyzed for tnf - alpha concentrations by commercial elisa assay per the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions ( r & amp ; d systems , minneapolis , minn .). test compounds were administered orally at various times before lps injection . the compounds were dosed either as suspensions or as solutions in various vehicles or solubilizing agents . for ease of reference , the following abbreviations are employed herein , including the methods of preparation and examples that follow : ph = phenyl bz = benzyl t - bu = tertiary butyl me = methyl et = ethyl pr = propyl iso - p = isopropyl meoh = methanol etoh = ethanol etoac = ethyl acetate boc = tert - butyloxycarbonyl dcm = dichloromethane dce = 1 , 2 - dichloroethane dmf = dimethyl formamide dmso = dimethyl sulfoxide tfa = trifluoroacetic acid thf = tetrahydrofuran hatu = 0 -( 7 - azabenzotriazol - 1 - yl - n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyluronim hexafluorophosphate koh = potassium hydroxide k 2 co 3 = potassium carbonate pocl 3 = phosphorous oxychloride edc or edci = 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride dipea = diisopropylethylamine hobt = 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate m - cpba = m - chloroperbenzoic acid nah = sodium hydride naoh = sodium hydroxide pd = palladium pd / c = palladium on carbon min = minute ( s ) l = liter ml = milliliter μl = microliter g = gram ( s ) mg = milligram ( s ) mol = moles mmol = millimole ( s ) meq = milliequivalent rt or rt = room temperature ret . t .= hplc retention time ( minutes ) ap = hplc area percent sat or sat &# 39 ; d = saturated aq .= aqueous tlc = thin layer chromatography hplc = high performance liquid chromatography rp hplc = reverse phase hplc lc / ms = high performance liquid chromatography / mass spectrometry ms = mass spectrometry nmr = nuclear magnetic resonance mp = melting point in the example 1 , designations associated with hplc data reflect the following conditions : a . column : ymc odsa s - 5 5u c18 4 . 6 × 50 mm ; solvent : solvent a 10 % meoh / 90 % water / 0 . 1 % thf , and solvent b = 90 % meoh / 10 % water / 0 . 1 % thf ; method : 4 min gradient ; b . column : ymc s - 5 ods 4 . 6 × 50 mm ; solvent : solvent a = 10 % meoh / 90 % water / 0 . 2 % h 3 po 4 , and solvent b = 90 % meoh / 10 % water / 0 . 2 % h 3 po 4 ; method : 4 min gradient . in the examples 2 and 3 , designations associated with hplc data reflect the following conditions : column : ymc hydrosphere c18 4 . 6 × 150 mm , 3 u ; solvent : solvent a = 0 . 05 % tfa / water , and solvent b = 0 . 05 % tfa / mecn method : 10 - 35 % b over 30 min , 35 - 70 % b over 15 min . flow rate 1 ml / min , 250 nm . the invention will now be further described by the following working examples , which are preferred embodiments of the invention . hplc purifications were done on c18 reverse phase ( rp ) columns using water meoh mixtures and tfa as buffer solution . these examples are illustrative rather than limiting . there may be other embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . to a cold solution of triethylamine ( 3 . 74 kg , 37 . 0 mol ) in dichloromethane ( 130 . 6 kg ) was added cyclopropylamine ( 2 . 38 kg , 41 . 7 mol ). the mixture was stirred at − 5 to 0 ° c . for 20 min . the solution of 4 - methyl - 3 - nitrobenzoyl chloride ( 6 . 8 kg , 34 . 1 mol ) in dichloromethane ( 14 . 6 kg ) was added at such a rate to maintain the temperature & lt ; 5 ° c . the mixture was stirred at 0 to 5 ° c . until its completion by hplc analysis . the reaction was quenched with 1n hcl solution ( 49 . 6 l ) ( t & lt ; 15 ° c . ), and the mixture was allowed to warm up to rt . the organic layer was separated . the aqueous layer was extracted with dichloromethane ( 26 . 2 kg ). the combined organic layers were washed with 5 % nahco 3 ( 49 . 6 l ) and brine ( 33 . 0 l ). the solvent was exchanged from dichloromethane to ethanol by distillation . the final ethanol solution volume was ˜ 98 . 6 l . to this solution was charged 5 % pd / c ( 0 . 34 kg ). the mixture was hydrogenated under 40 psi . the reaction temperature was in the range of 35 to 45 ° c . the cooling was applied if necessary . once the reaction went to completion , the catalyst was filtered off . the filtrate was concentrated to a volume ˜ 68 . 0 l . the solution was cooled to 0 to 5 ° c ., followed by addition of 12n hcl (˜ 2 . 7 l ). the resulting slurry was stirred for 1 h . the slurry was filtered , and the cake was washed with cold ethanol ( 10 . 9 kg ). the cake was dried under vacuum at 40 - 50 ° c . for 20h to afford 6 . 8 kg of compound 1 ( yield : 88 . 3 %) as an off - white solid . to a solution of the 3 - methyl - 1 - pyrrole - 2 , 4 - diethyl ester ( 100 mg ) ( j . heterocyclic chem vol . 34 ( 1997 ), at pp . 177 - 193 ; heterocycles , vol . 50 ( 1999 ), at pp . 853 - 866 ; synthesis ( 1999 ), at pp . 479 - 482 ), generally , the synthesis of pyrroles is described by the procedure of m . suzuki , m . miyoshi , and k . matsumoto j . org . chem . 1974 , 39 ( 1980 )) in dmf ( 0 . 44m )) was added either nah or kotbu ( 1 . 2 equiv ) at rt . this solution was stirred for 30 - 45 minutes . chloramine in ether ( ca . 0 . 15m , 1 eq .) was added via syringe . the solution was stirred for 1 . 5 h or until starting material was converted to product as judged by hplc analysis . the reaction was then quenched with aq . na 2 s 2 o 3 and extracted with etoac or et 2 o . the organic extracts were washed with water and brine and then dried over sodium sulfate . title compound a . was obtained in & gt ; 90 % yield . nh 2 cl in ether was prepared according to the procedure of nunn , j . chem . soc . ( c ), ( 1971 ) at p . 823 . to a solution of part a . compound a . ( 2 g ) in formamide ( 8 ml ) was added acetic acid ( 20 % by weight ), and the mixture was heated at 120 ° c . for 24h . the reaction mixture was cooled and water added ( 32 ml ) to precipitate the product . the solids were collected by filtration and washed with etoac to furnish title compound b . as a yellow solid ( 90 %). to a suspension of step 2 compound b oxopyrrolotriazine ( 750 g , 3 . 4 mmol ) in toluene ( 11 . 36 kg ) was added phosphorus oxychloride ( 643 g , 4 . 2 mol ) and n , n - dipea ( 484 g , 3 . 7 mol ). the resulting mixture was heated to 108 - 112 ° c . for 17 - 19 h . oxopyrrolotriazine was & lt ; 2 % by hplc analysis at this point . the mixture was allowed to cool to 0 ° c ., and then the aqueous k 2 hpo 4 (˜ 17 %, 13 . 5 kg ) was added slowly ( t & lt ; 5 ° c .). the organic layer was separated and washed with the aqueous k 2 hpo 4 (˜ 17 %, 2 . 6 kg ) and water ( 1 . 7 kg ). the organic layer was filtered through a bed of celite , and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to a volume (˜ 7 l ). dmf ( 4 l ) was added . evoparation all the toluene gave a solution of the title compound a in dmf . to a 20 l reactor was charged step 1 compound 1 ( 777 g , 3 . 4 mol ), followed by addition of diisopropylethylamine ( 418 g , 3 . 2 mol ) and dmf ( 2 . 4 kg ). the solution from step 3 compound a and dmf ( 3 . 0 kg ) were added . the mixture was heated to 45 ° c . and stirred at 45 ° c . until completion (˜ 1h ). the mixture was cooled to 35 ° c ., and the aqueous solution of k 2 hpo 4 ( 18 . 5 %, 3 . 3 kg ) was added over a 2h period . the resulting slurry was stirred at rt for overnight . the solid was filtered , and the cake was washed with water ( 7 . 6 l ), acetonitrile ( 1 . 8 kg ) and toluene ( 3 . 3 kg ). the solid was dried under vacuum at 40 ° c . to afford example 1 ester ( 1 . 2 kg , 87 % yield ) as an off - white solid . hplc ret . t .= 3 . 19 min . ; lc / ms ( m + h ) + = 394 . 31 a solution of example 1 ( 0 . 86 g , 2 . 20 mmol , 1 . 0 eq .) in thf ( 4 . 0 ml ) and 1 n aqueous naoh ( 9 . 0 ml , 4 . 1 eq .) was stirred at 60 ° c . overnight . after cooling to rt , the reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo but not to dryness . to the solution at 0 ° c . was added 1 n aqueous hydrochloric acid until it was acidic and the precipitate was collected and dried to afford crude example 1a acid ( 0 . 51 g , 64 . 0 % yield ). hplc ret . t .= 2 . 400 min . ; lc / ms ( m + h ) + = 366 . 06 +. the filtrate was then extracted with etoac ( 3x ) and the organic layers were combined , dried over sodium sulfate , and concentrated in vacuo to give example 1a acid ( 0 . 035 g , 4 . 4 % yield ). a solution of part a . acid ( 0 . 026 g , 0 . 071 mmol , 1 . 0 eq . ), edc ( 0 . 021 g , 0 . 11 mmol , 1 . 5 eq . ), hobt ( 0 . 015 g , 0 . 11 mmol , 1 . 5 eq ), n - propylamine ( 0 . 015 ml , 0 . 15 mmol , 2 . 1 eq .) and dipea ( 0 . 040 ml , 0 . 23 mmol , 3 . 2 eq .) in dmf ( 0 . 20 ml ) was shaken at rt overnight . water ( 1 ml ) was added and the precipitate collected by filtration , washed with water , and dried to give example 1a amide ( 0 . 021 g , 70 % yield ); hplc ret . t .= 2 . 883 min . ; lc / ms ( m + h ) + = 421 . 18 + . to a dried 100 ml flask was added thf ( 10 ml ) under nitrogen , which was then cooled to − 10 ° c . hexyllithium ( 2 . 3 m in hexane , 6 . 5 ml , 15 . 0 mmol ) was added slowly ( exothermic , temperature was up to 5 ° c . ), followed by dropwise addition of propylamine ( 1 . 01 g , 1 . 4 ml , 17 . 1 mmol ) at such a rate to maintain the temperature below 5 ° c . the resulting mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 20 minutes . a suspension of ester compound i ( 1 . 0 g , 2 . 5 mmol ) in thf ( 12 ml ) was added over a 10 minute period ( exothermic , t & lt ; 5 ° c .). after being stirred at 0 ° c . for 20 minutes , the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 5 hours . ester compound i was & lt ; 0 . 1 ap at this point by hplc analysis . the mixture was cooled to − 5 ° c . acetic acid ( 2 ml ) was added slowly to maintain the temperature & lt ; 10 ° c . the resulting thick slurry was stirred at room temperature for 20 minutes , and then solvents were exchanged with dmf ( 15 ml ) on a rotavapor . to the resulting yellow slurry , water ( 15 ml ) was added slowly to keep t & lt ; 25 ° c . during the addition of water , the slurry became a clear solution , and a new slurry was formed . the slurry was stirred at room temperature for overnight . in the morning the slurry was filtered and the solid was washed with dmf / water ( 1 : 1 , 5 ml ), water ( 5 ml ) and acetone ( 5 ml ). the cake was dried under vacuum at 55 ° c . for 24 hours to afford 0 . 90 g of amide product ii ( yield : 87 . 2 %) as a white solid . to a dried 100 ml of flask was added thf ( 10 ml ) under nitrogen and then cooled to − 10 ° c . n - butyllithium ( 2 . 5 m in hexane , 6 . 0 ml , 15 . 0 mmol ) was added slowly , followed by dropwise addition of propylamine ( 0 . 98 g , 16 . 5 mmol ) at such a rate to keep the temperature below 0 ° c . the resulting mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 20 minutes . a suspension of ester compound i ( 1 . 0 g , 2 . 5 mmol ) in thf ( 12 ml ) was added over a 10 minute period ( t & lt ; 5 ° c .). after being stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes , the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for overnight (˜ 22h , note 1 ). compound i was not detected at this point by hplc analysis . the mixture was cooled to − 7 ° c . acetic acid ( 2 ml ) was added dropwise to maintain the temperature & lt ; 10 ° c . the resulting thick slurry was stirred at 5 ° c . for 2 hours and at room temperature for 20 minutes , followed by evaporation on a rotavapor to give a wet yellow solid . to this solid was added acetone ( 10 ml ) and water ( 20 ml ). the slurry was stirred at room temperature for one and half hours . filtration gave a white solid . this solid was washed with 35 % acetone in water ( 10 ml ), water ( 5 ml ) and acetone ( 5 ml ). the cake was dried under vacuum at 55 ° c . for the weekend to afford 0 . 94 g of amide product ii ( yield : 91 . 0 %) as a white solid . hplc : 99 . 76 ap . a solution of n - propylamine ( 6 . 5 eq ) in thf ( 20 ml / g of ester compound i ) was cooled to —− 5 ° c . and was slowly treated with 2 . 5 m solution of n - butyllithium ( 6 . 1 eq ). the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes . at the end of the period , a slurry of ester compound i ( 1 eq ) in thf ( 14 ml / g of ester compound i ) was cannulated into the performed li — nhpr solution . the reaction mixture was warmed to 25 ° c . and stirred till all of ester compound i was consumed (˜ 3 hours ). after the reaction was judged to be completed by hplc , the reaction mixture was cooled to ˜ 0 ° c . and was slowly treated with acetic acid ( 5 ml / g of ester compound i ). the slurry was then warmed to ˜ 20 ° c . and was stirred for 1 hour . at the end of the period , the solvent was distilled under vacuum to the minimum volume and the concentrated slurry was diluted with a solution of acetone ( 10 ml / g of ester compound i ) and water ( 20 ml / g of ester compound i ). the slurry was stirred for 1 hour and was cooled to ˜ 5 ° c . the slurry was filtered and the cake was washed with acetone ( 5 ml / g of ester compound i ). the cake was dried to give the amide product ii ( typically in 85 % yield and 99 ap ). a solution of n - propylamine ( 20 eq ) in 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethanol ( 10 ml / g of ester compound 1 ) was slowly treated with 2 . 5 m solution of n - butyllithium ( 1 . 5 eq ). the mixture was stirred for 5 minutes . at the end of the period , the starting material , ester compound i , was added and the reaction mixture was warmed to 90 ° c . the reaction mixture was held at 90 ° c . for 24 hours and was allowed to cool to ˜ 20 ° c . the reaction mixture was then analyzed by hplc . typically , analysis indicated there was only 1 . 57ap of starting material left . a solution of n - propylamine ( 2 eq ) in methylene chloride ( 10 ml / g of ester compound i ) at 20 ° c . was slowly treated with 2 . 0 m solution of trimethylaluminum ( 4 eq ) in hexanes . the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes . at the end of the period , the starting material , ester compound i ( 1 eq ), was added and the reaction mixture was warmed to 60 ° c . the reaction mixture was held at 60 ° c . for 24 hours and was allowed to cool to ˜ 20 ° c . the reaction mixture was then slowly quenched with aqueous hcl solution and analyzed by hplc . typically , analysis indicated there was 96 . 8ap of amide compound ii product with 0 . 03ap of the dipropylamide impurity .

2Chemistry; Metallurgy

the problem underlying the invention is to extend the possible uses of the known braking stand on the one hand and to achieve a specific behavior which is different for the various tasks on the other hand , in particular for the entry , exit and driving conditions of the carriage - like roller blocks in the band - driving region . this problem is solved by shaping , which produces robust support in the central region . the entry and exit must be of elastic configuration . the design is such that high elasticity in the horizontal direction ( band tension direction ) is achieved . furthermore , negligible squeezing is achieved with the invention , as a result of which the flexing work at the entry and exit can be decisively reduced . the lining width corresponds to the chain pitch . the arrangement is made between the running rollers . it is possible with this design to provide a closed contact surface in the driving region . this design requires the synchronous running of the top carriage chain relative to the bottom carriage chain . a low lining hardness with a relatively thick lining is preferably selected . the metal band is embedded , so that the form errors of the metal band in cross section and the band waviness are compensated for without problem . the clearance spaces created enable the squeezed volume of the elastic lining to flow in a specific manner . the lining is given a filling piece , e . g . flat - bar steel . this enables the squeezing to be adapted in a specific manner to the functional task by means of stress concentration factor , while the desired inclination of the lining in the tension direction can be effected virtually without restriction . an appropriate applications [ sic ] consists in the fact that only one revolving carriage chain is designed as a revolving table . in this case , forces are induced in the band by means of permanent magnets or via electromagnets in order to be able to apply braking or tensile forces . magnetizable metal band is pulled by the forces of attraction onto the protective strap of the carriage chain and driving forces are produced in accordance with the μ - value . as a further possibility it is suitable for two revolving rollers to be equipped with permanent magnets or with electromagnets and for a parallel , linear , magnetic traveling field to be built up by the applied magnet poles , this magnetic traveling field acting as a linear , revolving eddy - current brake in the electrically conductive band material . the metal band is heated if the energy is supplied conductively or inductively via the revolving system . this effect may likewise be used in galvanic or other processes . if the revolving system is equipped with electronic measuring heads , the band thickness , the surface condition , the metallic structures and the like , for example , can be tested very accurately since the metal band and the test head can work in a fixed position for a certain time at identical speed . an optimum mode of operation is achieved if the mechanical linear drive is operated by an electric linear drive . this embodiment loads the carriage - chain system only in the linear driving region and is therefore appropriate in particular for large forces and high speeds . if the braking stand is placed in position on a control frame at pass line height , extremely precise control of the band with regard to the band center or band edge becomes possible , since the tilting moment is “ designed out ” by this measure . as a result , fluctuations in tension due to vibrations are avoided . this is an important aspect for rolling , stretching , bending and straightening processes . the braking stand or the control frame may be extended by a band - tension measuring frame . in this case , these units hang in leaf springs . the reaction forces of the band tension are recorded without distortion via measuring cells . this measuring system is able to measure exclusively the horizontal forces with a high repetitive accuracy and , depending on the measuring range , can be set to a few newton . for high demands , for example in the case of bands of very high surface sensitivity , such as copper or aluminum band , special effects become possible due to the invention , to be precise due to the specific feeding of the chains having the roller blocks into a relatively short clamping and driving region by means of straight guide strips , which at the same time enable the clamping forces to be absorbed . in this way , relatively large pressure forces can be absorbed , these pressure forces being necessary in order to ensure large tensile or retention forces without relative movement between the band and the revolving , carriage - like roller blocks . the specific feeding of the roller blocks is achieved by entry and exit curves at the straight guide strips of the driving region . a highly elastic transition is made possible by specific shaping . the squeezing of the elastic lining is specifically reduced by the insertion of shaped plates . the design of the electric linear drive has the advantage that the hinge ends of the chain - carriage link plates are only loaded by the deflection and centrifugal forces , whereas the loads from the band tension to be applied only act in the driving region . the dimensioning of the hinges may therefore be restricted to the deflection and centrifugal forces . the wear is thereby minimized . the driving section may be configured in such a way that current is fed to the metal band conductively or inductively . this solution is preferably used in galvanic processes , when heating the band , for measuring processes on the band and for the build up of magnetic fields , which are used for inducing retention forces . for the current feed , electrically conductive materials are put into the carriage - like roller blocks . the current can be switched on specifically when the roller blocks pass through the driving region . apart from a better efficiency compared with conventional gas - or oil - fired annealing furnace installations , a great advantage of this measure consists in the fact that the energy supply can be switched off at any time . when the eddy - current method is used , the band tension can be controlled by the opposed speed of the chain carriages , and the retention force can be controlled by varying the frequency . if the lining carriers of the carriage - chain system are equipped with measuring probes , ideal analyzing conditions are provided by the revolving table . the task of the revolving carriage - chain system is to carry the band and to ensure a fixed band distance from the measuring heads or magnet coils . the dwell time for the test operation can be set by establishing the contact section , since the metal band and the carriage - chain system have the same speed in this region . the application is suitable for band - thickness measurements , stress measurements in the band , surface scanning and other test systems . the current may alternatively be fed from the inside or laterally from outside . the current is switched on and off after the chain carriage has reached the parallel section or before it leaves the parallel section . individual magnets or magnet coils , which pass over the entire segmented region , can be supplied with voltage according to the same system . the band is pulled onto the chain carriage via the magnetic forces of attraction . band tension can be applied via the chain - carriage system as a function of these forces and the μ - value . this is also possible by means of permanent magnets . this design is suitable for magnetizable metal bands . the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings , in which : fig2 shows the front view of a braking stand with control and measuring frames , partly sectioned ; fig3 shows the side view of a braking stand with control and measuring frames , partly sectioned along line iii — iii in fig2 ; fig5 a shows a possible elastic lining shown in fig4 under a different loading state ; fig5 b shows a first embodiment of a shaping and filler piece according to the present invention ; fig5 c shows another embodiment of a shaping and filler piece according to the present invention ; fig6 a shows an eddy - current system used with a device according to the present invention ; fig6 b shows an eddy - current system shown in fig6 a using permanent magnets ; fig6 c shows an eddy - current system shown in fig6 a using magnetic coils ; fig7 b shows the system of fig7 a equipped with permanent magnets . the arrangement shown has the great advantage that the individual band strips can be fed tangentially to the winding reel 1 , 2 without a deflection sheave . the reverse tension built up in the braking stand 5 , 6 is brought to the take - up point without deflection losses and without relative movements . in this way , ideal preconditions are created for a uniform specific distribution of band tension . the tangential feeding is continuously adjusted . numeral 1 shows the winding mandrel of the winding reel , 2 shows the wound coil , 3 shows the third separation for the band strips , 4 shows the metal band , 5 shows the top revolving roller , 6 shows the bottom revolving roller , 7 shows the second separation and 8 shows the first separation , in order to feed the metal band to the braking stand at right angles from the loop 9 , and 10 shows the splitting shears . the special feature of this solution according to fig2 consists in the fact that the mechanical linear drive is moved by an electric linear drive 19 . this solution enables high band tension to be induced in the metal band in the quickest way . during the deflections , only the forces from the centrifugal forces and hinge movements arise for the carriage chain . the carriage chain 11 can be of simple configuration . the entire drive chain consists of shaft with the sprockets , universal shaft , gear unit , clutch and electric motor . substantially higher speeds with at the same time high band tension can be coped with without problem . numeral 12 shows the elastic segmented lining , 13 shows the lining carrier , 14 shows the running rail . the braking stand 20 hangs by means of leaf springs 24 in the control frame 21 . the band tension can be measured with very low hysteresis and very high repetitive accuracy by means of weighing cells 23 without distortion by deflections . the braking and tension stand 20 consists of the upright and revolving rollers 5 and 6 , which are arranged opposite one another and are fitted in guides of the uprights 20 and of which the top revolving roller 5 is set against the bottom revolving roller 6 by means of cylinder - pressurized piston rods 18 . the chains 11 and 11 a are composed of a multiplicity of carriage - like roller blocks , which are coupled to each other , extend over the entire width of a band 4 entering in arrow direction 25 and , with supporting wheels 26 , at least on both sides , and lateral guide rollers 27 , roll on a track or are in lateral contact with the latter . the track is run to a driving region , in which the opposite roller blocks 11 take hold of the band 4 on both sides and clamp it between them . the lining carriers 13 are provided with an elastic lining 12 . the lining width corresponds to the chain pitch t and extends within the axles of the supporting wheels 26 of two adjacent , i . e . successive , blocks . the axles at the same time for a defined center of rotation . the lining 12 is configured by clearance spaces 30 in such a way that an especially elastic adaptation of the squeezed lining is possible on the entry and exit side . the squeezing height of the lining should be as low as possible in order to keep the flexing work as slight as possible . at the same time , the lining must be given very high elasticity in the band tension direction in order to permit different band speeds for the individual split - band strips via the different inclination of the lining , as shown in fig6 a . the eddy - current system shown in fig6 a can be used with permanent magnets ( fig6 b ) with magnetic coils ( fig6 c ). this functional variance has been achieved according to the invention so that the squeezing height can be adapted to the task via the stress concentration factor by means of the supporting plates 31 and 32 , shown in fig5 b and 5c , but the inclination of the lining is only restricted to a negligible degree . fig4 a shows the position of the lining with slight band tension , and fig5 a shows the position of the lining with high band tension . if the lining carriers 13 are fitted with permanent magnets 33 or magnet coils 34 , which build up eddy - current fields , electrically conductive bands , in particular bands of aluminum , copper and their alloys , may be used for inducing band tension . in this case , the carriage chain , as a rule , is moved against the band running direction . the length of the contact section may be adapted to the requirements . this embodiment according to fig2 . 6 a - 6 c is of great interest for metal bands having the highest surface demands , since there is no contact with the braking system . the distance between the permanent magnets 33 or coils 34 can be kept constant by the supports of the revolving rollers being set by the elastic blocks 35 . the metal band 4 levitates between the permanent magnets 33 or the coils 34 due to the forces of attraction . the protective strap 36 is also shown . if the lining carriers 13 are fitted with permanent magnets 33 or magnet coils 34 which build up magnetic fields , magnetizable metal bands may be used for inducing band tension . in this case , the carriage chain is moved in the band running direction . the length of the contact section may be adapted to the requirements . fig7 a shows forward and reverse tension of the metal band by magnetic fields which can be produced by permanent magnets as shown in fig7 b . this embodiment is of great interest for metal bands having the highest surface demands , since there is contact with the braking system only on one side .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

as already noted , this invention relates to the processing of multibit ( parallel ) digital signals rf signals ( e . g ., 26 ) which may be generated , for example , as shown in fig2 , by digitally up sampling digital baseband signals to produce upsampled signals 22 which are then multiplied via a multibit digital multiplier ( e . g ., 23 ) to produce corresponding multibit nyquist rate digital rf signals ( e . g ., 26 ). a technology that has the required speed to accomplish the desired processing and transmission of signals is based on josephson junctions ( jjs ), and referred to as “ rapid single flux quantum ” logic , or rsfq . complex rsfq circuits have been demonstrated with clock speeds up to 40 ghz , and simple circuits with speeds up to 800 ghz . this is much faster than any other integrated - circuit electronic technology . however , the characteristic voltage of jj circuits is extremely small , of the order of 200 microvolts for the current fabrication technology . therefore , if jjs are to be used for a transmitter , a very large amplification factor is needed . this requires the use of semiconductor transistor power amplifiers , which are not quite as fast . the invention may be explained by reference to fig4 which shows a multi - bit digital - rf signal 26 synthesized at ( or slightly above ) the nyquist frequency corresponding to the band of interest . in the embodiment shown in fig4 , there are n bits ; starting from bit 1 , which is defined as the least significant bit ( lsb ), extending to bit n , which is defined as the most significant bit ( msb ). the number of bits may be any number deemed appropriate for the application and may vary over a wide range ( e . g ., from less than 8 to more than 30 ). each bit , b ( i ), is applied to a corresponding switching amplifier 41 ( i ). as shown in fig8 , each one of the switching amplifiers 41 ( i ) has a signal input , 411 ( i ), a signal output , 421 ( i ), and two power terminals , 424 ( i ) and 426 ( i ); the power terminals for the application therebetween of an operating voltage . each switching amplifier is supplied with an operating ( supply ) voltage corresponding to the significance ( order or weight ) of the signal input bit applied to that amplifier . the amplifier to which the least significant bit ( lsb ) is applied has the smallest supply voltage ( i . e ., v lsb ) applied to it . for the binary system of fig4 , the supply voltage of each succeeding amplifier , corresponding to a more significant ( higher ) bit , has a supply voltage that is a factor of two ( for a binary system ) larger than the previous most significant bit , etc . for the circuit of fig4 , it is assumed that each succeeding bit increases by a factor of two ( 2 ) and that each higher bit is applied to a corresponding amplifier . the amplitude of the operating voltages applied to the various amplifiers 41 ( i ) may then be expressed as : where ( i ) is the order of the bit and ( i ) varies form 1 to n . for example , a 12 - bit digital rf signal with a 1 ghz bandwidth could have a 2 gs / s output sampling rate , and a parallel array of 12 switching amplifiers , with supply voltages that might range in factors of two from 8 volts down to 3 . 9 millivolts ( 1 / 256 v ). thus , in circuits embodying the invention , the order of the bits is converted to a specific voltage . this provides a bit to voltage amplitude conversion . for example , assuming bit 1 ( b 1 ) to be the lsb , a value of v lsb is assigned to the bit , a voltage of 2 v lsb is assigned to bit 2 , and so on for the next bits . fig4 represents a new parallel digital amplifier for a digital - rf transmitter . the n bits of ( 1 to n ) of a nyquist - rate multibit digital - rf signal ( 26 in fig2 and 4 ) are amplified in parallel , with an array of switching amplifiers [ 41 ( 1 ) to 41 ( n )]. this replaces and is used instead of the oversampling code converter ( occ ) of the prior art , as shown in fig3 b . in the circuit of fig4 , the operating voltages [( k ) v lsb ] for the switching amplifiers [ 41 ( 1 ) to 41 ( n )] increase by a factor of two from one bit to the next higher order bit , with a maximum for the most significant bit ( msb ). for ease of illustration , in fig4 , each amplifier is shown biased between ground and ( k ) v lsb ; where k varies between 1 and 2 n − 1 . however , it should be appreciated that the operating voltage may be disposed about ground . that is , each amplifier 41 ( i ) is connected between two voltage rails [ e . g ., 424 ( i ) and 426 ( i )] and positive (+ v ) and negative (− v ) voltages may be applied to the rails to generate the desired operating voltage between the two rails to be applied to the corresponding amplifier . referring back to fig8 , note that a switching amplifier 41 ( i ) may include stages ( e . g ., 413 , 415 , 417 ) of pre - amplification and level shifting to boost the bit input signal ( which may be on the order of 0 . 2 millivolts ) to a level ( of several volts ) which will enable the output of complementary field effect transistors ( fets ) p 11 , n 11 to clamp the output e o ( i ) to the lower rail , 424 ( i ), or the upper rail , 426 ( i ), depending on the value of the bit input signal . in operation , either : ( a ) p 11 will be turned on and n 11 will be turned off clamping the output of the amplifier to the positive rail ; or ( b ) p 11 will be turned off and n 11 will be turned on clamping the output of the amplifier to the negative rail . as is known in the art , this type of witching is highly power efficient . note that in systems embodying the invention the electronic circuitry leading up to the output stage of the switching amplifier may be superconducting devices or a mixture of superconducting and semiconductor devices . as noted above , the switching amplifiers , 41 ( i ), are preferably ( but not necessarily ) comprised of an output stage with two switches in series between the two voltage rails , with an output terminal between the two switches , such that only one of the two switches is closed at any time . the switches may be comprised of transistors such as fets . therefore the output voltage switches between the two voltage rails . the switches are controlled by a switching controller ( e . g ., circuits 413 , 415 , 417 ) which rapidly shifts between the two configurations depending on the input voltage level . if the input consists of digital pulses , the output consists equally of digital pulses , but of larger amplitude . such switching amplifiers are known for their high power efficiency , since in principle virtually all of the power is delivered to the load . it should be appreciated that the signal transmission system and the associated circuitry is designed for synchronous operation and production of the signals at the outputs of the amplifiers ; i . e ., they are intended to occur at essentially the same time . in order to achieve the highest precision of the multi - bit digital amplifier , the amplified voltage outputs representing the various bits must be properly synchronized relative to each other . this may be accomplished by appropriate timing of the delays in the preamplifiers 413 , 415 , 417 and / or the use of delay networks to ensure that all bit signals , whether requiring more or less amplification , have essentially equal delays . alternatively , clocking signals may be used to keep the bit signals aligned . fore example , synchronization may be achieved by using a set of latches and a common clock signal , derived from the clock signal of the digital inputs . in some cases , amplifiers for the various bits may switch with different speeds , due to the different output slew rates of the different amplifiers . in such a situation , appropriate delays may be inserted in the lines for the various bits , either before or after the amplifiers , to ensure optimum phase synchronization of the various parallel components . fig4 illustrates that the signal input to each switching amplifier is of ( the same ) very low amplitude ( e . g ., va ). the gain of each switching amplifier is controlled ( see fig8 ) to ensure that the input signal causes the output of each switching amplifier to switch between the positive rail ( e . g ., v lsb , 2v lsb , 4v lsb , etc . . . . ) and the negative rail ( e . g ., shown as ground in fig4 , but which could have another voltage applied ). note that , as shown in fig4 , the amplitude of the output of the nth switching amplifier would correspond to the value of the operating voltage applied to the nth switch amplifier 41 ( n ). the outputs of the switching amplifiers , corresponding their respective input bits , are combined in rf combiner circuit 43 which is designed to suitably combine the outputs of the switching amplifiers . that is , the amplified digital - rf signals from the various bits present at the outputs of the amplifiers are combined via an rf power combiner 43 , and then passed through an analog bandpass filter 45 to generate the rf signal to be broadcast . fig6 illustrates a system for generating operating voltages suitable for distribution to the switching amplifiers used to practice the invention . a multi - output dc voltage reference generator ( vrg ) 47 may be used to generate a multiplicity of different operating voltages , v ( i ), as ( i ) varies from 1 to n . these voltages may be distributed via corresponding individual and separate voltage supplies 48 ( i ) to the switching amplifiers . thus , fig6 shows a voltage reference generator ( vrg ) 47 which can generate n different voltage levels [ where v 1 equals to v lsb up to v ( n ) equal to 2 ( n − 1 ) v lsb ] to provide the operating voltages to the n different switching amplifiers . this corresponds to the operating voltages for the n bits shown in fig4 where the different and subsequent operating voltage levels are set in ratios of 2 ( or powers thereof ). the vrg 47 may be any power supply which can provide precise , stable voltage values for the n reference levels from the millivolt to the volt level . ( the vrg need not supply significant currents , but can be used to provide stabilization of the amplifier voltages against noise and drift ). it is particularly important that the voltage for the msbs be stable and precise when n is large . for example , for a 12 - bit amplifier , supply fluctuations of the msb amplifier of 1 part in 4000 are larger than the entire output of the lsb amplifier . the vrg 47 may be a josephson voltage standard ( jvs ) which can be used to generate the operating voltages supplied to the amplifiers . such a standard may consist of more than 20 , 000 josephson junctions in series , in which a precision microwave frequency of 77 ghz is converted to a series of dc voltages with precision and stability that is much better than 1 part per million , and virtually defines the standard volt . it can also generate discrete voltage levels with up to 16 bits of resolution . by way of example , a jvs may be used as the vrg in either of two ways . in one application , the jvs is sequentially programmed to cycle through each of the n voltage levels , with a synchronous switch directing the appropriate output to a sample - and - hold circuit [ e . g ., 48 ( 1 ) to 48 ( n )] and then to the reference input of each amplifier supply . in another application , a special jvs chip may be fabricated with multiple voltage taps along the series array that permit n parallel outputs with binary - scaled reference voltages . because of the fundamental josephson frequency - voltage relation v = hf / 2e , where h is planck &# 39 ; s constant and e is the charge on the electron , a jj can convert a frequency of 100 ghz to a voltage of 207 microvolts , still too small to be very useful . a practical approach has been to boost the voltage by using a long series array of jjs , at the expense of speed . in fact , the volt is now defined internationally using an integrated circuit composed of approximately 20 , 000 jjs in series , to select dc voltages up to 10 v , to a precision of parts per billion . this is the josephson primary voltage standard ( reviewed in “ applications of the josephson effect to metrology ”, by s . benz and c . hamilton , proceedings of the ieee , 2004 ), which was developed by the us national institute for standards and technology ( nist ), and is now fabricated and marketed commercially by hypres . alternatively , where extremely high precision voltages are not needed , conventional voltage references ( with appropriate taps ) may be used to provide the needed operating voltages . the circuit of fig4 may be compared to the previously discussed approach of fig3 a and 3b , where the multibit signal is converted at low power to a heavily - oversampled single bit stream , which is then amplified . such a prior art code converter requires up - sampling by a large factor , which would be 2 ^ n for an n - bit signal and a first - order sigma - delta modulator ( or an equivalent first - order code converter ). for the 12 - bit , 1 ghz example above , this would require sampling at 8192 gs / s , which is clearly impractical for any technology . fig5 shows an alternative embodiment to the full parallel processing of the bits shown in fig4 . in fig5 a compromise is made between maximum parallelism and the oversampled serial approach . in fig5 , each cluster of 3 bits ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ) is converted to a corresponding oversampled single bit stream ( 27 a , 27 b , 27 c , 27 d ) with a sampling rate that is increased by a factor of 2 3 = 8 . ( this conversion may be carried out using a delta - sigma modulator , or a digital encoder such as that shown in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 781 , 435 to gupta and kadin .) for the 12 - bit , 1 ghz example , there would now be 4 parallel output switching amplifiers ( 52 ( i ), switching up to 16 gs / s , with supply voltages that might range ( in factors of 8 ) from 8 volts down to ( 1 / 64 ) volts . referring to fig5 , a 12 - bit digital - rf signal is shown , for example , grouped into 4 clusters of 3 bits each . evidently , other groupings ( clusters ) are permissible , as well as the number of bits per grouping / clusters . an oversampling code converter [ 51 ( a )- 51 ( d )] converts each 3 - bit cluster to an oversampled single bitstream ( here at 8 × the sampling rate ). each cluster &# 39 ; s bitstream is amplified with a switching amplifier ( 52 i ) having an operating voltage that increases by a factor of 2 3 = 8 from one cluster to the next . this requires that switching amplifiers operate 8 × faster than for the fully parallel approach of fig4 , with a reduction of hardware by about a factor of 3 . the circuit / system of fig5 demonstrates that a system designer can trade off between speed and hardware for a given application . in fig4 and 5 the operating voltages applied to the switching amplifiers varies between ground and a positive value . but , as already noted the operating voltage could vary between some (+ v ) and (− v ) or even between ground and some negative value . the optimum design of a transmission system depends on the balance between the speed of the available technologies and the acceptable level of hardware duplication . for any of the designs of the current invention , the linearity and dynamic range of the fully digital approach is to be maintained . superconducting rsfq circuits are particularly fast , with 2 - 4 ps pulses and digital clock speeds of 20 - 40 ghz standard . the most advanced semiconductor power amplifiers , such as those composed of gan high - electron - mobility transistors ( hemts ), have characteristic frequencies up to 90 ghz , corresponding to digital frequencies up to ˜ 10 ghz . so , combining these two technologies should yield a practical approach to a broadband all - digital transmission system . note that in the approach of this invention , there is not a separate digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) followed by amplification ; the two functions are closely integrated together . the signal is maintained in digital format through the amplification chain , although the different gain factors for the various parallel bits permits simple addition to create a combined signal that may be close to the desired analog signal . the signal is not fully analog until it passes through the analog bandpass filters ( 45 in fig4 , 55 in fig5 ) in front of the antenna ( see fig4 and 5 ). a broadband multi - carrier signal can incorporate many narrowband signals with sharply differing power levels . a digital transmitter system of the current invention must have sufficient dynamic range to include the weakest signals while avoiding saturation or distortion from the largest signals . in a fully digital system , nonlinear distortion ( such as intermodulation ) is avoided . however , it is also critical that the contributions from the parallel bit amplifiers all be properly matched in gain . for fast switching amplifiers , this reduces to controlling the dc supply voltages . this can be achieved by locking the supply voltage to an appropriate precision reference standard . the best standard , of course , is the josephson voltage standard that virtually defines the volt , with parts per billion stability and 16 bits of dynamic range . this requires a cryogenic system , but that may already be available for the rsfq digital synthesizer . in summary , the present invention provides a practical way to achieve an all - digital rf transmitter for ghz - bandwidth systems , which can provide a large dynamic range and low noise . in fig4 and 5 , there is shown a broadband rf power combiner ( 43 in fig4 , 53 in fig5 ) which can suitably combine the outputs of the switching amplifiers . the outputs of the amplifiers [ 41 ( i ) and 52 ( i )] include signal components which extend over the entire frequency range from dc to multiple ghz . this requires a very fast combiner circuit . fig7 illustrates a combiner circuit ( 43 or 53 ) using a standard operational amplifier ( op - amp ) adder circuit . in fig7 , each output [ e o ( i )] from a switching amplifier is connected to and terminated with a corresponding resistor ( r 1 , r 2 , . . . ) connected to the inverting input 711 of an op - amp 710 . each resistor r ( i ) should ideally be matched to the transmission line impedance ( typically of order 50 ohms ) to prevent signal reflections . if the feedback resistor ( rf ) is also 50 ohms , the signal gain would be unity , and the output voltage vo =−( v 1 + v 2 + . . . vn ). the signal inversion would not typically be a problem . if it is , a non - inverting op - amp adder may be used instead . for precision operation of this combiner circuit , the input resistors are preferably precisely matched to each other . it may be difficult to find an op - amp with sufficient bandwidth for this operation . however , it may not be necessary to maintain the full bandwidth , particularly if the desired analog rf output lies within a specific rf band . then dc and other out - of - band components would need to be filtered out before the antenna , and some of this filtering could be obtained in ( or before ) the combiner circuit . several types of known resonant , relatively narrow - band , passive rf combiners , which are available commercially , could provide acceptable alternatives to the op - amp circuit of fig7 . a more generalized type of switching amplifier , than the one shown and discussed above , which could be used to practice the invention , is one in which the output is tuned to resonate in a narrow bandwidth , usually by coupling to a passive resonator . a class e amplifier is of this type . in this case , the output consists not of simple digital pulses , but rather of sinewaves that can be turned on and off . while the present invention focuses on a broadband transmitter using a set of classic digital switching amplifiers , the same system architecture could also be applied to a narrowband transmitter with a multi - bit digital input , here using resonant power amplifiers to maximize in - band power efficiency .

7Electricity

it has now been surprisingly found that the use of trans - 1 , 2 improves the processability and compatibility of hfcs and / or pentanes in polyol premixes . the amount effective to achieve this improvement is dependent on the specific blowing agent and the type of polyols , although this improvement is found to be especially beneficial with the polyester polyols . the premixes can be converted into polyurethane foams via conventional techniques , such as handmix , high pressure impingement , low pressure mechanical mixing , spray and the like . auxiliary blowing agents may also be present with the hfc and / or pentane blowing agents , such as water , hcfcs , and hydrochlorocarbons . the blowing agent can be distributed between the “ a ” and “ b ” sides of the foam composition . all or a portion of it can also be added at the time of injection or mixing as a third stream . the other components of the premix and foam formulations may be those which are conventionally used , which components and their proportions are well known to those skilled in the art . for example , fire retardants , surfactants and polyols are typical components of the premix ( b - side ), while the a - side is primarily comprised of polyisocyanate . in making foam , the a and b sides are typically mixed together , followed by injection of the catalyst , after which the mixture is poured into a mold or box . the practice of the invention is illustrated in more detail in the following non - limiting examples . first , compatibility of hfc blowing agents ( 245fa and 365mfc ) with and without trans - 1 , 2 was tested in polyester polyol ( stepanol ps2412 with hydroxyl number of 230 - 250 from stepan company ). when 39 parts of 245fa was added to 100 parts of the polyester polyol without trans - 1 , 2 , phase separation occurred . when trans - 1 , 2 was added to 245fa in a 50 / 50 weight ratio , a homogeneous , one phase polyol mixture was obtained at a level equivalent to about 50 parts of 245fa to 100 parts polyol . similar results were found when 365mfc replaced the 245fa . second , the vapor pressure of 134a and 134a / trans - 1 , 2 blends in polyether and polyester polyols was measured . in both polyols , addition of trans - 1 , 2 was found to lower the vapor pressure of the premix , although the improvement was found to be most significant with the polyester polyol .

2Chemistry; Metallurgy

the present invention provides a low - cost heat performance enhanced package for an integrated circuit die , using a perforated substrate . in a typical package of the present invention , the perforated substrate consists of at least one solder mask , a conductor layer , and a perforated substrate core , which includes an array of perforations . in such a package , the conductor layer provides electrical connections between an integrated circuit die attached to the perforated substrate and the regular array of perforations . the regular array of perforations provide vias through which conductor traces of a printed circuit board (&# 34 ; system board &# 34 ;), on which the integrated circuit is installed , can be coupled to the conductor layer and thereby , to the terminals of the integrated circuit die . other variations within the scope of the present invention are possible . an example of a perforated substrate core is shown in fig3 . as shown in fig3 perforated substrate core 300 includes a regular array of perforations 301 . perforations 301 can be arranged over a universal grid , at a pitch of 50 mils , for example . as described above , in low pin - count packages , perforated substrate core 300 can replace a conventional lead frame . perforated substrate core 300 can be formed using any rigid material , for example , using bismaleimide triazine ( bt ) or any suitable high temperature epoxy . other possible materials include ( i ) ceramic material , ( ii ) flexible circuits rigidized by laminates , and ( iii ) any two - sided laminated substrate . a copper conductor can be provided on one or both sides of these substrates using , for example , a plated or cladded copper film . in the present description , to facilitate comparison between figures , like elements in these figures are provided like reference numerals . a perforated substrate in one embodiment of the present invention is shown in perspective and side views in fig4 a and 4b respectively . in fig4 a and 4b , a perforated substrate 400 includes a first solder mask 401 , a conductor layer 408 formed on one surface of perforated substrate core 300 , and a second solder mask 406 . an additional conductor layer 409 can be also be provided on the side of perforated substrate core 300 opposite to the side on which conductor layer 408 is formed . solder mask 401 includes openings 402 at the periphery and openings 403 at positions corresponding to openings 301 of perforations substrate core 300 . conductor layer 408 includes bondable metallic pads 404 to be used in a die - up , wire - bonded configuration . in that configuration , the integrated circuit die is attached by an electrically insulating adhesive on to perforated substrate 400 , facing away from conductor layer 408 . electrical connections between bond pads on the integrated circuit and the bondable metallic pads 404 are provided by bond wires through openings 402 of solder mask 401 . fig6 shows a plan view of an integrated circuit die 601 attached to solder mask 401 over a perforated substrate 602 . as shown in fig6 bond wires 603 electrically couple bonding pads 604 of integrated circuit die 601 to the bondable metallic pads 404 on perforated substrate 602 , through openings 402 of solder mask 401 . referring back to fig4 a , openings 410 on the bondable metallic pads 404 , corresponding to openings 301 of perforated substrate 300 , are provided to allow electrical connections to the other side of perforated substrate core 300 by vias through openings 301 . such vias can be provided by through hole plating , or by filling openings 301 with a solder flux or a conductive paste . the optional conductor layer 409 provides an additional level of flexibility in pin assignment . alternatively , a die - down (&# 34 ; flip - chip &# 34 ;) configuration can be provided in which the integrated circuit die is attached with its bonding pads facing solder mask 401 and aligned with openings 403 . in that configuration electrical connections from the bonding pads of the integrated circuit die to the solder balls on the other side of perforated substrate core 300 are achieved by vias through openings 403 of solder mask 401 , openings 301 of perforated substrate core 300 and openings 407 of solder mask 406 . of course , in such a configuration , the bonding pads on the integrated circuit and the openings 403 and 407 are aligned . however , if openings 301 in substrate core 300 are plugged with a conductive paste , so that contact can be made between the bonding pads of the integrated circuit die , solder masks 401 and 406 can be eliminated . in such an arrangement , the bonding pads on the integrated circuit die can be &# 34 ; pre - bumped &# 34 ; with a solder material , for attaching to the conductive paste provided in openings 301 . such an arrangement would not require alignment between the openings in the solder masks and openings 301 of the substrate core . this arrangement is particularly useful in the configuration in which the bonding pads are distributed around the outer periphery of the integrated circuit die . a perforated substrate 500 in another embodiment of the present invention is shown in perspective and side views , respectively , in fig5 a and 5b . perforated substrate 500 differs from perforated substrate 400 of fig4 a and 4b by not having second solder mask 406 and the additional conductor layer 409 . in one implementation , perforated substrate core 300 of perforated substrate 400 is made from a bt material , while perforated substrate core 300 of perforated substrate 500 is made from a high temperature epoxy material . in another single - solder mask substrate , perforated core 300 is made from a flexible polyimide material . a polyimide substrate provides a thinner substrate than et . a chip scale package ( csp ) is provided by the use of a perforated substrate of the present invention . a csp is so called because of the relatively small footprint of the package that approximates the surface area of the integrated circuit die contained therein . fig7 a is an assembly flow chart used in a process for manufacturing a csp , in accordance with the present invention . fig7 b - 7h show the various stages of a csp at various steps of the assembly process of fig7 a . as shown in fig7 a and 7b , at step 701 (&# 34 ; wafer sort &# 34 ;), a semiconductor wafer 700 on which numerous integrated circuits dies 711 are fabricated is sorted in a conventional manner to identify the non - functional dies . at step 702 (&# 34 ; wafer mount and saw step &# 34 ;), semiconductor wafer 700 is diced ( using , for example , a diamond saw ) to singulate integrated circuit dies 711 . at step 703 (&# 34 ; die attach &# 34 ;), integrated circuit dies 711 are placed and attached individually on to a perforated substrate 720 ( fig7 c ) by a conventional die attach method . perforated substrate 720 can be provided as ( i ) a sheet , as shown in fig7 c , on which a rectangular array of packages can be formed , ( ii ) a strip or panel , on which a row of packages can be formed , ( iii ) any other form suitable for automated processing . if electrical connections from integrated circuit dies 711 to perforated substrate 720 are to be provided by wire bonds , integrated circuit dies 711 are attached in the &# 34 ; die - up &# 34 ; configuration using , for example , a thermally conductive adhesive . wire bonding is then performed at step 704 . if a &# 34 ; die - down &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; flip - chip &# 34 ; configuration is used , integrated circuit dies 711 are attached aligned by an automated process to the perforations of perforated substrate 720 using , for example , solder bumps to engage the pre - formed vias or bumps in perforated substrate 720 . preformed vias are discussed in the parent application incorporated by reference above and thus a description of such preformed vias is not repeated here . at step 705 (&# 34 ; coating and cure &# 34 ;), an encapsulation is provided to seal integrated circuit dies 711 . the encapsulation can be provided by ( i ) an overcoating , using a die coating or a silk screen printing process , or ( ii ) a conventional plastic protective material ( e . g . epoxy resin ), using a liquid encapsulation method , a conventional transfer molding method , or any suitable non - stick molding method . alternatively , if a cavity package or a hermetically sealed package is desired , a ceramic cap coated with epoxy , or provided a glass seal ring , can also be used over perforated substrate 720 . an encapsulated substrate 725 , with encapsulation material 730 provided on the top side , is shown in fig7 d . a cross section of encapsulated substrate 725 is shown in fig8 . fig8 shows encapsulated substrate 725 formed by overcoating perforated substrate 720 with encapsulation material 730 to enclose an integrated circuit die 711 . in fig8 integrated circuit die 711 is wire - bonded by bond wires 742 to a conductor layer 744 . electrical connection from outside the csp is provided , in this instance , by preformed vias 743 . at step 706 , encapsulated substrate 725 is marked using , for example , a laser engraving or an inking technique , to provide individual identification and other information to be furnished on the individual finished csps ( fig7 e ). if preformed vias are not used , a solder ball attach step 707 is performed in a conventional manner . fig7 f shows solder balls 740 provided on encapsulated substrate 725 on an opposite side of encapsulation material 730 . of course , the present invention is not limited to packages using solder balls as terminals for electrical access . other forms of electrical contacts ( e . g . a pin grid or fusible metallization on a system board ) can also be provided . at step 708 (&# 34 ; test &# 34 ;), the encapsulated integrated circuit dies 711 are individually electrically tested through their external terminals ( e . g . the solder balls ). at step 709 (&# 34 ; mount and saw &# 34 ;), the individual csps 750 are singulated from encapsulated substrate 725 ( fig7 g ) using , for example , a diamond saw . a suitable diamond saw includes , for example , a serrated diamond blade with adequate cutting relief . alternatively , singulation can also be achieved by a mechanical process facilitated by the v - shaped groove discussed in the parent application incorporated by reference above . finally , at step 710 , as shown in fig7 h , the individual csps 750 are attached to a tape 760 , provided in a reel form , to facilitate automatic placement in a subsequent system board manufacturing process . the above detailed description is provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and does not limit the present invention . numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention are possible . the present invention is defined by the claims appended hereinbelow .

7Electricity

the present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of , or cooperating more directly with , apparatus in accordance with the present invention . it is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described may take various forms well known to those skilled in the art . additionally , materials identified as suitable for various facets of the invention , for example , marking materials , solvents , equipment , etc . are to be treated as exemplary , and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner . referring to fig1 a - 1c , and 4 - 7 b , a printing apparatus 20 is shown . the printing apparatus 20 includes a marking material delivery system 22 and a receiver retaining device 24 . the marking material delivery system has a pressurized source of a thermodynamically stable mixture of a fluid and a marking material , herein after referred to as a formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c , connected in fluid communication to a delivery path 26 at least partially formed in / on a printhead 103 . the printhead 103 includes a discharge device 105 positioned along the delivery path 26 configured ( as discussed below ) to produce a shaped beam of the marking material . an actuating mechanism 104 is also positioned along the delivery path 26 and is operable to control delivery of the marking material though the printhead 103 . the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c is connected in fluid communication to a source of fluid 100 and a source of marking material 28 ( shown with reference to formulation reservoir 102 c in fig1 a ). alternatively , the marking material can be added to the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c through a port 30 ( shown with reference to formulation reservoir 102 a in fig1 a ). one formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , or 102 c can be used when single color printing is desired . alternatively , multiple formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , or 102 c can be used when multiple color printing is desired . when multiple formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , 102 c are used , each formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c is connected in fluid communication through delivery path 26 to a discharge device ( s ) 105 . a material selection device 160 is appropriately positioned along delivery path 26 such that each discharge device ( s ) 105 can selectively eject marking material from each formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c depending on the position of material selection device 160 . additionally , at least one inlet of the material selection device 160 is connected to the source of fluid 100 . a discussion of illustrative embodiments follows with like components being described using like reference symbols . referring to fig1 a - 1c , printhead 103 , which includes at least one discharge device 105 and actuating mechanism 104 as described below with reference to fig5 a - 5c , is moveable ( arrow a ) between a first position where printing occurs ( as shown in fig1 a and 1b ) and a second position where cleaning and / or calibration occurs ( as shown in fig1 c ). printhead 103 translates in a first direction while receiver retaining device 24 translates in at least one other direction . a rotatable drum 150 that rotates in a second direction relative to printhead 103 during printing is shown in fig1 a - 1c . alternatively , other types of receiver retaining devices 24 can be used with the printing system of the present invention , for example , x , y , z translation stages , rollers , individual receiver trays , etc . printhead 103 is connected to material selection device 160 through flexible tubing 110 which allows printhead 103 to translate between the first position over receiver retaining device 24 and the second position over a cleaning station 162 and / or a calibrating station 163 . any suitable flexible tubing 110 can be used , for example , a titeflex extra high - pressure hose p / n r 157 - 3 ( 0 . 110 inside diameter , 4000 psi rated with a 2 in bend radius ) commercially available from kord industrial , wixom , mich . in this embodiment , rigid tubing 101 connects material selection device 160 to formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c and fluid source 100 . alternatively , flexible tubing 110 can be replaced with rigid tubing 101 with appropriate modifications to the receiver retaining device 24 and the cleaning station 162 and calibrating station 163 . when rigid tubing 101 replaces flexible tubing 110 , the receiver retaining device 24 should be able to translate in at least two directions during printing . this can be accomplished using , for example , x , y translation stages in any known manner . alternatively , printhead 103 can be a page width type printhead with receiver retaining device 24 being moveable in at least one direction . additionally , the cleaning station 162 and / or the calibrating station 163 can be modified such that cleaning station 162 and / or calibrating station 163 can be positioned in the material delivery path of printhead 103 . this can be accomplished using , for example , a solenoid mechanism that extends and retracts cleaning station 162 and / or calibrating station 163 into and from the material delivery path . during a multicolor printing operation , each color is printed sequentially , rather than in parallel . as such , each discharge device 105 of printhead 103 is used to eject each printed color which helps to maximize the resolution of printhead 103 . for example , material selection device 160 is positioned to allow a marking material ( for example , a first color ) from formulation reservoir 102 a to be ejected through discharge devices 105 on printhead 103 . printhead 103 and receiver retaining device 24 move together in one of the ways described above to print the marking material from formulation reservoir 102 a on receiver 106 . actuating mechanism 104 is actuated in order to deliver the correct amount of material at the appropriate time and receiver location . when this process is complete , printhead 103 translates to cleaning station 162 , as shown in fig1 c . any marking material from formulation reservoir 102 a remaining in line 110 is purged at the cleaning station 162 by positioning the material selection device 160 to allow fluid from source 100 to be ejected from discharge devices 105 and actuating mechanism 104 . the above described process is then repeated in order to eject material from formulation reservoirs 102 b and 102 c . typically , the purging operation is performed for a predetermined amount of time and can be calculated using characteristics of the printing system 20 such as material mass flow rates , length of line 110 , etc . alternatively , a material sensing system 164 positioned in cleaning station 162 can be used to verify that the marking material from one formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c has been removed from the line 110 prior to ejecting material from another of formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . when material sensing system 164 is used to determine whether material from one formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c has been purged from line 110 , a closed loop sensing operation is generally preferred . in this operation , purging continues until sensing system 164 indicates that an acceptable level of marking material remains in line 110 . sensing systems 164 of this type typically analyze ejected streams of marking material having individual particle sizes ranging from approximately 10 microns to approximately 100 microns and usually include a ccd sensor or camera with appropriate optics and a light source positioned away from the sensor or camera on the opposite side of the marking material stream . suitable equipment for this type of marking material stream analysis is , for example , a sony model # xc - 75 camera , a navitar zoom lens p / n 60135 , and a fiber - optic illuminator model a - 3000 from dolan jenner . alternatively , an off line sensing system 164 can be used . typically , off line sensing systems measure the amount of marking material present on a receiver sample . an example of a sensing system 164 suitable to perform this type of measurement is a spectrodensitometer , model number 530 , commercially available from x - rite inc . of grandville mich . material sensing system 164 can also be used to calibrate printing system 20 . typically , system calibration is performed when the printing system 20 is starting up , when the marking material or media type is changed , before critical printing jobs are performed , or when the printing system 20 is otherwise out of calibration . during calibration , printhead 103 can be translated to a calibration station 163 including material sensing system 164 . calibration station 163 can be positioned next to cleaning station 162 . alternately , cleaning and calibration can be performed in a single cleaning / calibration station 165 as shown in fig1 b . any known print scanning and correction algorithm for performing printer system calibration can be used in conjunction with the present invention . for example , calibration station 163 can scan a printed test target and form a lookup table containing data that can be used to adjust the length of time each actuating device 104 remains open . using this data , color densities can be varied as discussed below with reference to fig8 a - 8c . referring to fig2 a - 3b , the discharge device 105 of the print head 103 includes a first variable area section 118 followed by a first constant area section 120 . a second variable area section 122 diverges from constant area section 120 to an end 124 of discharge device 105 . the first variable area section 118 converges to the first constant area section 120 . the first constant area section 118 has a diameter substantially equivalent to the exit diameter of the first variable area section 120 . alternatively , discharge device 105 can also include a second constant area section 125 positioned after the variable area section 122 . second constant area section 125 has a diameter substantially equivalent to the exit diameter of the variable area section 122 . discharge devices 105 of this type are commercially available from moog , east aurora , n . y . ; and vindum engineering inc ., san ramon , calif . the actuating mechanism 104 is positioned within discharge device 105 and moveable between an open position 126 and a closed position 128 and has a sealing mechanism 130 . in closed position 128 , the sealing mechanism 130 in the actuating mechanism 104 contacts constant area section 120 preventing the discharge of the thermodynamically stable mixture of supercritical fluid and marking material . in open position 126 , the thermodynamically stable mixture of supercritical fluid and marking material is permitted to exit discharge device 105 . the actuating mechanism 104 can also be positioned in various partially opened positions depending on the particular printing application , the amount of thermodynamically stable mixture of fluid and marking material desired , etc . alternatively , actuating mechanism 104 can be a solenoid valve having an open and closed position . when actuating mechanism 104 is a solenoid valve , it is preferable to also include an additional position controllable actuating mechanism to control the mass flow rate of the thermodynamically stable mixture of fluid and marking material . in a preferred embodiment of discharge device 105 , the diameter of the first constant area section 120 of the discharge device 105 ranges from about 20 microns to about 2 , 000 microns . in a more preferred embodiment , the diameter of the first constant area section 120 of the discharge device 105 ranges from about 10 microns to about 20 microns . additionally , first constant area section 120 has a predetermined length from about 0 . 1 to about 10 times the diameter of first constant area section 120 depending on the printing application . sealing mechanism 130 can be conical in shape , disk shaped , etc . referring back to fig1 a - 1c , the marking material delivery system 22 takes a chosen solvent and / or predetermined marking materials to a compressed liquid / compressed gas and / or supercritical fluid state , makes a solution and / or dispersion of a predetermined marking material or combination of marking materials in the chosen compressed liquid / compressed gas and / or supercritical fluid , and delivers the marking materials as a collimated and / or focused beam onto a receiver 106 in a controlled manner . in a preferred printing application , the predetermined marking materials include cyan , yellow and magenta dyes or pigments . in this context , the chosen materials taken to a compressed liquid / compressed gas and / or supercritical fluid state are gases at ambient pressure and temperature . ambient conditions are preferably defined as temperature in the range from − 100 to + 100 ° c ., and pressure in the range from 1 × 10 − 8 - 1000 atm for this application . a fluid carrier , contained in the fluid source 100 , is any material that dissolves / solubilizes / disperses a marking material . the fluid source 100 delivers the fluid carrier at predetermined conditions of pressure , temperature , and flow rate as a supercritical fluid , or a compressed liquid / compressed gas . materials that are above their critical point , as defined by a critical temperature and a critical pressure , are known as supercritical fluids . the critical temperature and critical pressure typically define a thermodynamic state in which a fluid or a material becomes supercritical and exhibits gas like and liquid like properties . materials that are at sufficiently high temperatures and pressures below their critical point are known as compressed liquids . materials that are at sufficiently high critical pressures and temperatures below their critical point are known as compressed gasses . materials in their supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas state that exist as gases at ambient conditions find application here because of their unique ability to solubilize and / or disperse marking materials of interest when in their compressed liquid / compressed gas or supercritical state . fluid carriers include , but are not limited to , carbon dioxide , nitrous oxide , ammonia , xenon , ethane , ethylene , propane , propylene , butane , isobutane , chlorotrifluoromethane , monofluoromethane , sulphur hexafluoride and mixtures thereof . in a preferred embodiment , carbon dioxide is generally preferred in many applications , due its characteristics , such as low cost , wide availability , etc . the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c in fig1 a is utilized to dissolve and / or disperse predetermined marking materials in compressed liquid / compressed gas or supercritical fluids with or without dispersants and / or surfactants , at desired formulation conditions of temperature , pressure , volume , and concentration . the combination of marking materials and compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid is typically referred to as a mixture , formulation , etc . the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c in fig1 a can be made out of any suitable materials that can safely operate at the formulation conditions . an operating range from 0 . 001 atmosphere ( 1 . 013 × 10 2 pa ) to 1000 atmospheres ( 1 . 013 × 10 8 pa ) in pressure and from − 25 degrees centigrade to 1000 degrees centigrade is generally preferred . typically , the preferred materials include various grades of high pressure stainless steel . however , it is possible to use other materials if the specific deposition or etching application dictates less extreme conditions of temperature and / or pressure . the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c in fig1 should be adequately controlled with respect to the operating conditions ( pressure , temperature , and volume ). the solubility / dispersibility of marking materials depends upon the conditions within the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . as such , small changes in the operating conditions within the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c can have undesired effects on marking material solubility / dispensability . additionally , any suitable surfactant and / or dispersant material that is capable of solubilizing / dispersing the marking materials in the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid for a specific application can be incorporated into the mixture of marking material and compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid . such materials include , but are not limited to , fluorinated polymers such as perfluoropolyether , siloxane compounds , etc . the marking materials can be controllably introduced into the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid is also controllably introduced into the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . the contents of the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c are suitably mixed , using a mixing device to ensure intimate contact between the predetermined imaging marking materials and compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid . as the mixing process proceeds , marking materials are dissolved or dispersed within the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid . the process of dissolution / dispersion , including the amount of marking materials and the rate at which the mixing proceeds , depends upon the marking materials itself , the particle size and particle size distribution of the marking material ( if the marking material is a solid ), the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid used , the temperature , and the pressure within the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . when the mixing process is complete , the mixture or formulation of marking materials and compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid is thermodynamically stable / metastable , in that the marking materials are dissolved or dispersed within the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid in such a fashion as to be indefinitely contained in the same state as long as the temperature and pressure within the formulation chamber are maintained constant . this state is distinguished from other physical mixtures in that there is no settling , precipitation , and / or agglomeration of marking material particles within the formulation chamber , unless the thermodynamic conditions of temperature and pressure within the reservoir are changed . as such , the marking material and compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid mixtures or formulations of the present invention are said to be thermodynamically stable / metastable . this thermodynamically stable / metastable mixture or formulation is controllably released from the formulation reservoir ( s ) 102 a , 102 b , 102 c through the discharge device 105 and actuating mechanism 104 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 a - 1c , material selection device 160 is a valve having four inputs 166 connected through rigid tubing 101 to formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , 102 c , and fluid source 100 . additionally , material selection device 160 has one output 168 connected to printhead 103 through flexible tubing 110 . alternatively , material selection device 160 can include four individual two - position valves with the outputs of theses valves being connected through a plenum to flexible tubing 110 . suitable valves , for example , valves having a pressure rating of 3000 psi ( model eh21g7dccm ) are available from peter paul electronics , new britain conn . during the discharge process , the marking materials are precipitated from the compressed liquid / compressed gas / supercritical fluid as the temperature and / or pressure conditions change . the precipitated marking materials are preferably directed towards a receiver 106 by the discharge device 105 through the actuating mechanism 104 as a focussed and / or collimated beam . the invention can also be practiced with a non - collimated or divergent beam provided that the diameter of first constant area section 120 and printhead 103 to receiver 106 distance are appropriately small . for example , in a discharge device 105 having a 10 um first constant area section 120 diameter , the beam can be allowed to diverge before impinging receiver 106 in order to produce a printed dot size of about 60 um ( a common printed dot size for many printing applications ). discharge device 105 diameters of these sizes can be created with modern manufacturing techniques such as focused ion beam machining , mems processes , etc . alternatively , capillary tubing made of peek , polyimide , etc . having a desired inner diameter ( ca . 10 microns ) and a desired outer diameter ( ca . 15 microns ) can be bundled together in order to form printhead 103 ( for example , a rectangular array of capillaries in a 4 × 100 , a 4 × 1000 , or a 4 × 10000 matrix ). each capillary tube is connected to an actuating mechanism 104 thereby forming discharge device 105 . printing speed for a printhead formed in this fashion can be increased for a given actuating mechanism frequency by increasing the number of capillary tubes in each row . the particle size of the marking materials deposited on the receiver 105 is typically in the range from 1 nanometers to 1000 nanometers . the particle size distribution may be controlled to be uniform by controlling the rate of change of temperature and / or pressure in the discharge device 105 , the location of the receiver 106 relative to the discharge device 105 , and the ambient conditions outside of the discharge device 105 . the print head 103 is also designed to appropriately change the temperature and pressure of the formulation to permit a controlled precipitation and / or aggregation of the marking materials . as the pressure is typically stepped down in stages , the formulation fluid flow is self - energized . subsequent changes to the formulation conditions ( a change in pressure , a change in temperature , etc .) result in the precipitation and / or aggregation of the marking material , coupled with an evaporation of the supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas . the resulting precipitated and / or aggregated marking material deposits on the receiver 106 in a precise and accurate fashion . evaporation of the supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas can occur in a region located outside of the discharge device 105 . alternatively , evaporation of the supercritical fluid and / or compressed - liquid / compressed gas can begin within the discharge device 105 and continue in the region located outside the discharge device 105 . alternatively , evaporation can occur within the discharge device 105 . a beam ( stream , etc .) of the marking material and the supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas is formed as the formulation moves through the discharge device 105 . when the size of the precipitated and / or aggregated marking materials is substantially equal to an exit diameter of the discharge device 105 , the precipitated and / or aggregated marking materials have been collimated by the discharge device 105 . when the sizes of the precipitated and / or aggregated marking materials are less than the exit diameter of the discharge device 105 , the precipitated and / or aggregated marking materials have been focused by the discharge device 105 . the receiver 106 is positioned along the path such that the precipitated and / or aggregated predetermined marking materials are deposited on the receiver 106 . the distance of the receiver 106 from the discharge device 105 is chosen such that the supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas evaporates from the liquid and / or supercritical phase to the gas phase prior to reaching the receiver 106 . hence , there is no need for a subsequent receiver drying processes . alternatively , the receiver 106 can be electrically or electrostatically charged , such that the location of the marking material in the receiver 106 can be controlled . it is also desirable to control the velocity with which individual particles of the marking material are ejected from the discharge device 105 . as there is a sizable pressure drop from within the printhead 103 to the operating environment , the pressure differential converts the potential energy of the printhead 103 into kinetic energy that propels the marking material particles onto the receiver 106 . the velocity of these particles can be controlled by suitable discharge device 105 with an actuating mechanism 104 . discharge device 105 design and location relative to the receiver 106 also determine the pattern of marking material deposition . the temperature of the discharge device 105 can also be controlled . discharge device temperature control may be controlled , as required , by specific applications to ensure that the opening in the discharge device 105 maintains the desired fluid flow characteristics . the receiver 106 can be any solid material , including an organic , an inorganic , a metallo - organic , a metallic , an alloy , a ceramic , a synthetic and / or natural polymeric , a gel , a glass , or a composite material . the receiver 106 can be porous or non - porous . additionally , the receiver 106 can have more than one layer . the receiver 106 can be a sheet of predetermined size . alternately , the receiver 106 can be a continuous web . referring to fig4 , an alternative embodiment is shown . an onboard reservoir 114 positioned on printhead 103 releasably mates with a docking station 161 connected to material selection device 160 through rigid tubing 101 . material selection device 160 is connected through rigid tubing 101 to fluid source 100 and formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , 102 c . again , using material selection device 160 allows all discharge devices 105 to be used during each pass of the printing operation . during operation , printhead 103 translates to docking station 161 and receives a quantity of marking material from one of formulation reservoirs 102 a , 102 b , 102 c depending on the positioning of material selection device 160 . the marking material is ejected onto receiver 106 . excess marking material , if any , is purged over cleaning station 162 . alternatively , printhead 103 can be calibrated , if necessary , over calibrating station 163 . the process is then repeated until printing is complete . printhead 103 can translate back to docking station 161 ( for example , to receive an additional quantity of fluid from fluid source 100 ) at any time during operation . this allows onboard reservoir 114 to be recharged as needed . for example , reservoir 114 can be recharged as a function of remaining pressure or weight of the formulation in reservoir 114 , after a known volume of formulation has been ejected through printhead 103 , after a predetermined number of translations over receiver 106 , etc . reservoir 114 is equipped with the appropriate known sensing mechanisms 116 in order to determine when reservoir 114 should be recharged . alternatively , reservoir 114 can be equipped with a pressure increasing device 115 that forces unused marking material and / or fluid back through docking station 161 and material selection device 160 and into the appropriate formulation reservoir 102 a , 102 b , 102 c , of fluid source 100 when the marking material and / or fluid is no longer needed . an example of a suitable pressure - increasing device 115 is a variable volume piston having a regulated fluid pressure source sufficient to force the marking material and / or fluid back through the marking material delivery system 22 . alternatively a mechanical force can be applied to the piston to force the marking material and / or fluid back through marking material delivery system 22 . referring to fig5 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , material selection device 160 is positioned on printhead 103 such that material selection device 160 and printhead 103 travel as a unit during operation . this embodiment helps to reduce waste and time associated with the cleaning process described above , for example when material selection device 160 is positioned to allow a different marking material to be ejected through printhead 103 . referring to fig6 , a premixed tank ( s ) 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , containing premixed predetermined marking materials and the supercritical fluid and / or compressed liquid / compressed gas are connected in fluid communication through tubing 110 to printhead 103 . premixed tank 124 d , containing fluid only , is also connected in fluid communication through tubing 110 to printhead 103 . the premixed tank ( s ) 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d can be supplied and replaced either as a set 125 , or independently in applications where the contents of one tank are likely to be consumed more quickly than the contents of other tanks . the size of the premixed tank ( s ) 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d can be varied depending on anticipated usage of the contents . the premixed tank ( s ) 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d are connected to the discharge devices 105 of printhead 103 through material selection device 160 positioned on printhead 103 . when multiple color printing is desired , each discharge device 105 can be utilized to eject a marking material from a particular premixed tank 124 a , for example , and then utilized to eject a marking material from another premixed tank 124 b , for example . cleaning and calibrating can be accomplished as described above . referring to fig7 a and 7b , another embodiment describing premixed canisters containing predetermined marking materials is shown . premixed canister ( s ) 137 a , 137 b , 137 c , 137 d is positioned on the printhead 103 . when replacement is necessary , premixed canister 137 a , 137 b , 137 c , 137 d can be removed from the printhead 103 and replaced with another premixed canister ( s ) 137 a , 137 b , 137 c , 137 d . each of premixed canister ( s ) 137 a , 137 b , 137 c , 137 d is connected in fluid communication to discharge device 105 through material selection device 160 . when multiple color printing is desired , each discharge device 105 can be utilized to eject a marking material from a particular premixed canister 137 a , for example , and then utilized to eject a marking material from another premixed canister 137 b , for example . cleaning and calibrating can be accomplished as described above . referring back to fig1 a - 7b , in addition to multiple color printing , additional marking material can be dispensed through printhead 103 in order to improve color gamut , provide protective overcoats , etc . when additional marking materials are included check valves and printhead design help to reduce marking material contamination . each of the embodiments described above can be incorporated in a printing network for larger scale printing operations by adding additional printing apparatuses on to a networked supply of supercritical fluid and marking material . the network of printers can be controlled using any suitable controller . additionally , accumulator tanks can be positioned at various locations within the network in order to maintain pressure levels throughout the network . in each of the embodiments described above , there are several methods for achieving appropriate gray scale levels for each color ( commonly referred to as color density ) used in a given printing operation . after a nominal color value for a marking material is determined during calibration of the printing system , the color value of the marking material can be altered , as desired depending on the particular printing operation , varying one or more of the control mechanisms of the printing system . for example , the duration that actuating mechanism 104 remains open can be varied causing the amount of marking material delivered to each printed pixel to vary . alternatively , the duration that actuating mechanism 104 remains open can be held constant , while the flow rate of marking material through actuating mechanism 104 is varied . this can be accomplished by adjusting a marking material flow control device ( for example , a valve positioned upstream from actuating mechanism 104 ) or by varying the open position of actuating mechanism 104 . system controller can retrieve the information required to make these adjustments in any known manner , for example , retrieving the data from a look up table created during system calibration . alternatively , the duration and flow rate can be held constant while the concentration of marking material is varied causing the amount of marking material delivered to each printed pixel to vary . adjusting printed pixel color density using any of these methods helps to maintain maximum printer system resolution . referring to fig8 a - 8c , representative gray scale levels for a printed pixel 119 - 123 are shown . in fig8 a - 8c , five gray scale levels are shown for illustrative purposes only , as one of ordinary skill in the art is well aware that it is possible to create many gray scale levels for a printed pixel depending to the particular printing operation . referring to fig8 a , pixel 119 has a lowest color density which , as is the case in most printing applications , occurs when no marking material is delivered that pixel location on a receiver . pixel 120 has a medium low color density which can be established , for example , by determining the concentration of marking material in the fluid necessary to create pixel 120 . the concentration of marking material can then be fixed with pixel 121 having medium color density , pixel 122 having a medium high color density and pixel 123 having a high color density being achieved during printing by increasing the duration that actuating mechanism 104 remains open , or increasing the flow rate of marking material through actuating 104 . alternatively , pixel 120 can be established by determining the duration that actuating mechanism 104 remains open or the flow rate of marking material through actuating mechanism 104 . when duration of actuating mechanism 104 is used to establish pixel 120 , typically the most preferred duration is the minimum amount of time that actuating mechanism 104 remains open in order to establish pixel 120 . this is a function of the mechanical design of actuating mechanism 104 . pixels 121 - 123 are then achieved by increasing the concentration of marking material in the fluid , increasing the other of the duration that actuating mechanism 104 remains open or the flow rate of marking material through actuating mechanism 104 . referring to fig8 b , in some printing applications it can be advantageous to vary the size of the printed pixel 119 - 123 in order to achieve different color densities . this can be accomplished by varying additional control mechanisms of the printing system . for example , varying the diameter of the fluid stream exiting the discharge device can vary the size of the printed pixel 119 - 123 . this can be accomplished , for example , by controlling the pressure differential ( fluid velocity ) of the printing system ; providing a discharge device 105 having an actuating mechanism 104 that can open to a plurality of diameters ; varying the geometry of the discharge device 105 such that multiple exit orifice sizes are provided ; providing a plurality of discharge devices 105 each having a predetermined exit diameter size ; etc . alternatively , varying the distance between the discharge device 105 and the receiver 106 can vary the size of the printed pixel 119 - 123 . this can be accomplished , for example , by positioning receiver 106 on an x , y , z translator ; controlling the motion of the receiver 106 relative to the printhead 103 or the motion of the printhead 103 relative to the receiver 106 ; etc . unlike conventional inkjet printing systems , printing with the present invention delivers a solvent free marking material to receiver 106 . as such , problems associated with bleeding of the image ( which can occur with liquid and / or solvent based inks ) are reduced . referring to fig8 c , in some printing applications it can be advantageous to maintain a single actuating mechanism 104 duration and printed pixel size . in these situations , pixels 119 - 123 having the color densities described above can be achieved using methods known as digital half toning . in these methods , there is only one printed pixel size having one concentration of marking material , however , the multiple color densities of pixels 119 - 123 can be achieved by delivering a predetermined number of printed pixels to an area of the receiver that forms pixels 119 - 123 . this is because the human eye perceives high - density dots at less than 100 % coverage as a uniform lower density area on a receiver . as such , pixel 123 is created by delivering four pixels of marking material to the receiver area that makes up pixel 123 . pixel 122 is formed by delivering three pixels of marking material ; pixel 121 is formed by delivering two pixels , pixel 120 is formed by delivering one pixel ; and pixel 119 is formed by delivering no pixels of marking material . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the invention .

1Performing Operations; Transporting

in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the above and other aspects can be accomplished by a linear valve position measuring apparatus comprising : a rotation supporting housing 20 installed on a bidirectional hydraulic cylinder 10 ; a top supporting plate 30 positioned above , spaced apart from and assembled with the rotation supporting housing 20 in a single body by a plurality of supporting poles 31 and 32 ; a rotation sleeve 40 positioned to surround the outside of an upper piston rod 12 of the bidirectional hydraulic cylinder 10 , top and bottom ends of the rotation sleeve 40 being rotatably connected to the rotation supporting housing 20 and the top supporting plate 30 , respectively , and the outer circumference of the rotation sleeve 40 including a spiral groove 42 formed to pass through the inside and outside of the rotation sleeve 40 ; a guide pin 50 with one end being connected to an upper part of the upper piston rod 12 and the other end protruding outwardly through the spiral groove 42 ; a potentiometer 60 installed through a potentiometer securing plate 61 connected to the top supporting plate 30 , and a variable shaft 63 positioned below the potentiometer 60 and connected to the rotation sleeve 40 in a single body , to output an electrical signal corresponding to a rotation angle of the rotation sleeve 40 ; and an electronic control unit ( ecu ) 70 to calculate a vertical movement distance of the upper piston rod 12 by using the electrical signal being output by the potentiometer 60 . hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . the present invention provides a linear valve position measuring apparatus which is easily and dedicatedly installed on a bidirectional hydraulic cylinder 10 to directly move a linear type valve vertically , whereby a valve position is measured . the bidirectional hydraulic cylinder 10 is open to enable vertical movement of a pair of an upper piston rod 12 and a lower piston rod 13 respectively installed at upper and lower positions of a piston 11 in a single body . a gate of the valve is connected to the lower piston rod 13 to directly raise the gate or move it down . the upper piston rod 12 moves vertically , driving a rotation sleeve 40 to rotate forwardly / reversibly . accordingly , it is possible to measure a vertical movement distance of the upper piston rod 12 which changes in proportion to a rotation angle of the rotation sleeve 40 . a rotation supporting housing 20 is installed on the bidirectional hydraulic cylinder 10 , by passing through the upper piston rod 12 and it supports a lower part of the rotation sleeve 40 so as to be rotatable . as illustrated in fig3 , the rotation supporting housing 20 includes a bearing 22 and a bearing receiving opening 21 . the bearing 22 is fitted into the bearing receiving opening 21 , and a rotation end 41 formed at a bottom of the rotation sleeve 40 is fitted into the bearing 22 , thereby enabling smooth rotation operation of the rotation sleeve 40 . further , as illustrated in fig1 , the rotation supporting housing 20 may include a rotation ball receiving opening 25 formed in a multiple step manner , to support the smooth rotation of the rotation sleeve 40 , without using any expensive bearings as the components . rotation balls 26 are received in the rotation ball receiving opening 25 . the rotation balls 26 support a lower end of the rotation sleeve 40 and are secured to the outer circumference of a lower part of the rotation sleeve 40 , thereby frictionally supporting and enabling rotation of the rotation sleeve 40 . this structure reduces the cost . a top supporting plate 30 is positioned to be spaced apart from the rotation supporting housing 20 . the top supporting plate 30 and the rotation supporting housing 20 are connected to each other in a single body by a plurality of supporting poles 31 and 32 , so that the top supporting plate 30 and the rotation supporting housing 20 are maintained in a firm assembly state . the rotation sleeve 40 is positioned to surround the outside of the upper piston rod 12 . a spiral groove 42 in a spiral shape is formed on the outer circumference of the rotation sleeve 40 . the spiral groove 42 is formed to pass through the inside and outside of the rotation sleeve 40 . a sleeve cap 44 with a rotation protrusion 43 is fitted into an upper part of the rotation sleeve 40 in a single body . a rotation bushing 45 is received around the outside of the rotation protrusion 43 . the rotation protrusion 43 with the rotation bushing 45 passes through the top supporting plate 30 , so as to be rotatably connected together . the lower part of the rotation sleeve 40 is rotatably connected to the rotation supporting housing 20 . the spiral groove 42 provides a path through which a guide pin 50 connected to the upper piston rod 12 moves vertically . while the guide pin 50 moves , it pushes vertically the inside of the spiral groove 42 , so that the rotation sleeve 40 can rotate forwardly / reversibly . upper and lower ends of the spiral groove 42 are positioned at different angles in a view from the position of a horizontal plane of the spiral groove 42 . the angle range corresponds to the maximum rotation angle range of the rotation sleeve 40 . one end of the guide pin 50 is connected to an upper part of the upper piston rod 12 and the other end of the guide pin 50 passes through the spiral groove 42 and protrudes outwardly . then , the guide pin 50 is positioned to pass through a guide space 51 formed between a pair of the supporting poles 32 which are positioned to be adjacent to each other as illustrated in fig4 , thereby preventing any rotation movement caused by resistance generating when the guide pin 50 pushes the inside of the spiral groove 42 during it moves vertically as the upper piston rod 12 moves . therefore , in any cases , the guide pin 50 is prevented from rotating , so that it smoothly moves vertically . the guide pin 50 may be directly installed at a rod cap 55 connected to the top end of the upper piston rod 12 in a single body . otherwise , the guide pin 50 may be installed at one side of a pin holder 52 connected to the rod cap 55 , as illustrated in fig5 and 6 . however , when the guide pin 50 is installed at the pin holder 52 , a connection protrusion 55 a is freely rotatably fitted into and connected to a rotation opening 53 formed at the pin holder 52 . a piston ring fitted to be received around the outside of the general piston 11 is secured to be movable , along the inside of the cylinder . thus , even though any rotation movement occurs during the piston 11 and the upper piston rod 12 move vertically , the rotation force is not transferred to the pin holder 52 , so that only the upper piston rod 12 can move to rotate . therefore , since the rotation force of the upper piston rod 12 is prevented from being transferred to the guide pin 50 in any case , the guide pin 50 provides the effect of driving the rotation sleeve 40 to smoothly rotate . in accordance with the present invention , as illustrated in fig7 , a potentiometer securing plate 61 is spaced apart from and connected to a top side of the upper supporting plate 30 in a single body , by a plurality of space bars 62 . a potentiometer 60 is installed through the potentiometer securing plate 61 . a variable shaft 63 formed under the potentiometer 60 is connected to the rotation sleeve 40 in a single body , so that while the variable shaft 63 and the rotation sleeve 40 are operatively connected to each other and rotate , the potentiometer 60 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to a rotation angle of the rotation sleeve 40 . as illustrated in fig8 , when the variable shaft 63 is inserted into a shaft receiving opening 64 formed in the sleeve cap 44 , the potentiometer 60 is secured by a securing member 65 connected to the variable shaft 63 by a screw , through the outside of the sleeve cap 44 . however , the present invention does not limit thereto . as illustrated in fig9 , the variable shaft 63 is inserted into the shaft receiving opening 64 but a rotation preventing groove 66 is formed at a bottom of the variable shaft 63 . then , a rotation preventing protrusion 67 formed to protrude from a bottom of the shaft receiving opening 64 is fitted into the rotation preventing groove 66 , so as to be connected together . therefore , the variable shaft 63 is operatively connected to the rotation sleeve 40 , to rotate together . the potentiometer 60 is connected to an electronic control unit ( ecu ) 70 by a transmission line 71 . the ecu 70 calculates a vertical movement distance of the upper piston rod 12 corresponding to the rotation angle of the potentiometer 60 , by using the electrical signal being output by the potentiometer 60 , so that the valve position is accurately measured . a measurement value of the valve position is indicated on a display unit included in a control panel , to be easily confirmed by an operator . further , the present invention applies methods of limiting the vertical movement of the upper piston rod 12 and the guide pin 50 . as one method thereof , when the minimum and maximum rotation angle values of the rotation sleeve 40 are predetermined and the actual rotation angle values of the rotation sleeve 40 reach to the predetermined values , the movement of the upper piston rod 12 and the guide pin 50 are automatically limited by signals . as the other method thereof , when the guide pin 50 is in contact with limit switches 57 respectively installed adjacently to upper and lower sides of the spiral groove 42 as illustrated in fig3 , the movement of the guide pin 50 is mechanically limited . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims .

8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology

the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the inventions are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . rather , applicants provide these embodiments so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . in the drawings , the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity . referring to fig1 there is shown a semiconductor device 10 according to the present invention . the semiconductor device 10 comprises a first metal silicide layer 20 and a second semiconducting diamond film or layer 30 . fig2 illustrates an embodiment wherein the device 10 comprises a semiconducting diamond film or layer 30 , a substrate 40 adjacent the diamond layer 30 and a transition metal silicide interface region 20a between the diamond layer 30 and the substrate 40 . fig3 illustrates an embodiment wherein an insulating diamond layer 30a is grown on a metal silicide layer 20 on a substrate 40 . a conducting diamond layer 30b can then be deposited or grown on the insulating diamond layer . the semiconducting diamond layer 30 may have a thickness of greater than about 20å , preferably between about 100å and about 2 μm . the semiconducting oriented diamond is preferably a heteroepitaxial single crystal diamond film , although the present invention includes the deposition of highly oriented or polycrystalline diamond . the diamond layer 30 is formed or deposited on the metal silicide layer using conventional gas phase techniques such as cvd by exposing a bulk transition metal silicide 20 or a transition metal silicide on a substrate 40 to a carbon and hydrogen containing gas mixture , such as a methane and hydrogen gas mixture , while the substrate is maintained at a predetermined temperature . the methane and hydrogen gas mixture , for example , preferably includes a methane concentration in the range of about 0 . 1 to 1 . 5 % by mass , and more preferably no more than about 0 . 5 % methane by mass . as would be readily understood by those skilled in the art , other gas mixtures for cvd formation of diamond may be readily used . in addition , the cvd deposition of diamond may be carried out at conventional cvd pressures , such as in the range of about 10 to 150 torr . the metal silicide layer 20 preferably is a transition metal silicide . the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of nickel , cobalt , copper , chromium , magnesium , iron , zinc and alloys thereof . suitable alloys are metals there can form homogeneous mixtures with the metal of the metal silicide . exemplary alloy metals include gold , palladium , platinum and the like . the metal of the metal silicide layer can also be a refractory metal such as titanium , tantalum , tungsten , molybdenum , hafnium and niobium . a preferred metal silicide is ni 3 si . the metal silicide layer can be a bulk silicide layer or can be an interface between the diamond layer 30 and the non - diamond substrate 40 . the metal silicide can be as thin as one monolayer . the metal silicide layer has a relatively close lattice match with diamond . by lattice matching , the layers are in atomic registry with each other , namely the crystal structures are substantially in alignment with each other . as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 212 , 401 to humphreys et al ., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , lattice match relates to the difference between the lattice constant (&# 34 ; a o &# 34 ;) of diamond and the metal , and is typically expressed in terms of a &# 34 ; lattice mismatch &# 34 ;. preferably the lattice mis - match is less than about 7 percent , preferably less than about 4 percent , and more preferably less than about 2 percent relative to the lattice constant of diamond . the lattice matching results in strong atomic bonding . the non - diamond substrate 40 can be a transition metal selected from the group consisting of nickel , cobalt , copper , chromium , magnesium , iron , zinc , and alloys thereof which have a relatively close lattice match to diamond . typically , the substrate 40 has a thickness of greater than about 10 μm , and preferably between about 500 μm to 10 mm . the non - diamond substrate can also be conventional non - diamond , semiconductor device - type substrate such as al 2 o 3 , mgo , srtio 3 , zro 2 , beo , baf 2 , caf 2 , sic , gaas , aln , sio 2 , si , si 3 n 4 , laalo 3 and lagao 3 . the combination of lattice matching and the transition metal silicide containing silicon which tends to form tetrahedral bonds with carbon results in strong bonding and good adhesion . the interface is shown in fig4 noting the alternation of nickel and silicon atoms . in the past , nickel and similar metals would readily form graphite in a cvd process for growing diamond unless special thermal treatments are employed . the present invention overcomes this limitation . the example which follows is provided to further illustrate the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof . a bulk nickel silicide ( ni 3 si ) is prepared by an arc melting technique using stoichiometric amounts of nickel and silicon to result in the ni 3 si alloy . 2 . 2834 grams of elemental nickel in the form of 2 . 0 mm diameter wire ( johnson - matthey , lot # 17508 ) is weighed and added to 0 . 3375 grams of silicon lumps ( alfa , lot # m4n5 ), resulting in a total weight of 2 . 6207 grams . the nickel and silicon are placed into the are furnace . after arc melting , the sample is again weighed 2 . 6185 grams ) and then annealed for 20 hours in a furnace at 1000 ° c . and 10 - 6 torr . the resulting sample or a piece thereof is polished using the method : ______________________________________5 minutes 500 grit silicon carbide5 minutes 30 μm diamond5 minutes 6 μm diamond5 minutes 1 μm diamond5 minutes 0 . 3 μm alumina5 minutes 0 . 05 μm alumina______________________________________ diamond growth is achieved on the resulting ni 3 si substrate in a microwave plasma system ( astex , 1500 watts ) using the following parameters : ______________________________________initial pressure 10 torrbiasing conditionspressure 15 torrch . sub . 4 flow 25 sccmh . sub . 2 flow 500 sccmbias voltage - 250 vdcmicrowave power 900 watts / 20 reflected wattstime 20 minutesgrowth conditionspressure 25 torrch . sub . 4 flow 2 . 5 sccmh . sub . 2 flow 500 sccmmicrowave power 900 watts / 20 reflected wattstime 24 hours______________________________________ the sem micrographs of fig5 a and 5b illustrate that a film has formed with the faceting typical of a polycrystalline diamond film . the raman spectrum shows unequivocally that the film is largely diamond with little sp 2 component . the method and structure disclosed herein may be used to fabricate oriented diamond films and single crystal diamond films for microelectronics applications . additionally , the method and structures disclosed herein may be used for producing strongly adhering diamond films on metals , such as iron , chromium and magnesium , for example . the diamond coated metals may have beneficial uses and applications outside of the microelectronics field . the method and structure disclosed herein may be used to fabricate oriented diamond films and single crystal diamond films for microelectronics applications . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed , and that modification and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims .

7Electricity

the following is an example of a ring network system organized by data transmission units of the present invention . [ the entire construction of the ring network system ] in fig5 there are nodes 401 - 404 connected together in a pair of rings 421 and 422 which circulate data in opposite directions , band managing unit 405 for managing assignment of later described window band to each of the nodes 401 - 404 , terminals 406 - 412 each connected with each of the nodes 401 - 404 . data transmission between the nodes are carried out by using ring cells which are packets having fixed length passing round transmission rings 421 and 422 . the ring cell is composed of a binary digit string having a format shown in fig6 which comprises a 5 octet header unit and a pay load carrying the user information of 48 octets . the header unit is composed of a 12 bit access control field ( acf ), a 16 bit ring virtual channel number ( rvcn ), 2 bit undefined bits , 2 bit state indication bits for indicating the state of the ring cell characteristic of this invention and an 8 bit header check sequence . the above rvcn comprises an access node address ( ana ) and a logical channel number ( lcn ) for indicating the addresses of the node and the terminal of the destination . the state indication bits indicate the ring cell to be occupied , idle , or released which are described later . data are transferred and received between the terminals and the node by using such a cell having broadband isdn standardized format ( hereinafter referred to as terminal cells ). the terminal cell includes the terminal address indicating the destination terminal . since the formats of the ring cell and the terminal cell are different from each other , each node converts a terminal cell transferred from its terminal into a ring cell to transmit to the destination node , while the destination node converts a received ring cell into a terminal cell to transfer to its terminal . a window band represents the number of ring cells that each node can use in a certain unit of time ( for example , one second ) as a rule . proper assigning of a window band allows data for the window band to be transmitted substantially without fail . as is described later , since data transmission exceeding the window band may be carried out depending on the state of the node , even burst transmission can be done with a short delay time . the assignment of the window band is managed by the band managing unit 405 upon request of each node 401 - 404 , according to the number of the terminals connected with the node , characteristics and requested transmission quality of data determined by source media , whether the data transmission is a connection type or a connectionless type , and the size of already assigned window band . in the case of the connection type , window band can be assigned upon request of each of the nodes 401 - 404 , while in the case of the connectionless type , it can be predetermined . one example of the actual assignment of the window band is &# 34 ; 20 can be used out of 1400 ring cells received by a node &# 34 ;. also , when the transmission speed of the ring cell is 1 . 4 mcells / sec ., &# 34 ; 20 cells per 1 / 1000 sec . ( measuring period )&# 34 ; and &# 34 ; the measuring period is 1 / 1000 sec . and 20 kcells / sec .&# 34 ; mean the same . however , it is important that &# 34 ; 20 cells per 1 / 1000 sec .&# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 10 cells per 1 / 2000 sec .&# 34 ; do not result in the same even the number of the usable cells in one second is the same . having long measuring period is advantageous when a large number of data must be transmitted in succession , while having short measuring period is advantageous when delay time must be as short as possible even successive data are few . the dispersion of delay time can be minimized by randomizing the frequency of use of ring cells by making the measuring periods of each of the nodes different or by staggering the measuring timing . whether the assigned ring cells are used periodically or for burst transmission depends on each node . the following is a description of the state of a received and a transmitted ring cells . an occupied ring cell is a ring cell carrying user information to be transmitted . when a node receives such a cell , it transmits the cell as it is to a next node if the address set in the rvcn belongs to another node . on the other hand , if it is bound for the node itself , it transfers the information to its terminal and transmits the ring cell which will be occupied , idle , or released depending on the presence of remaining window band and of data to be transmitted through the same process as the idle cell described in ( 2 ) is received . an idle ring cell is similar to the unoccupied cell of the ring network system cited in the related art . when a node has received an idle ring cell , it can use the cell as long as it has its assigned window band left ( w & gt ; 0 ) and data to be transmitted ( q & gt ; 0 ). at that time , the assigned window band decreases ( w - 1 ). when there is no data to be transmitted ( q = 0 ), the node transmits a released ring cell which will be described at ( 3 ) even if there is a window band left ( w & gt ; 0 ). at that time , the window band decreases as exhausted , and sets its address in the rvcn of the released ring cell . the purpose of setting in the address is different from that of the original , which is described at ( 3 ). the address can be set also in acf or another unit instead of rvcn . when it is set in rvcn , there is no need to provide a circuit for identifying the node address set in acf because a circuit for detecting the destination of an occupied cell can be used . having already exhausted the window band ( w = 0 ), the node transmits the received idle ring cell as it is to a next one so that the other nodes having remaining window bands can carry out data transmission . a released ring cell is a cell released when a node has surrendered data transmission because there is no data to be transmitted ( q = 0 ) although it has window band left ( w & gt ; 0 ). when the other nodes than the one whose address is set in the rvcn have received a released ring cell , if they have data to be transmitted ( q & gt ; 0 ), they can occupy the ring cell whether they have window band left or not . here , it is remarkable that a node which cannot use an idle cell because it has exhausted the window band ( w = 0 ) can occupy such a cell . such an effective use of ring cells passing round the transmission ring 421 can avoid problems caused by the assignment of window band ( for example , burst transmission can not necessarily be completed ). when a node having the window band left uses such a ring cell , its window band does not decrease because the node uses the ring cell transmitted by another node by surrendering data transmission . having received a released ring cell , if it does not have data to be transmitted ( q = 0 ), it transmits it as it is to the next . on the other hand , when the node receives a released ring cell setting its own node address , in other words , when the ring cell released by the same node has come back after passing round the transmission ring 421 because no other nodes have data to be transmitted , it is processed in the same way as the case of the idle ring cell . this means that when the node has window band left ( w & gt ; 0 ) and has data to be transmitted ( q & gt ; 0 ), it can carry out data transmission , while when it does not have data to be transmitted ( q = 0 ), it transmits the released ring cell again . when it has exhausted the window band ( w = 0 ), it converts the released ring cell into an idle ring cell so that the other nodes can carry out data transmission . fig9 shows the nodes 401 - 404 connected together in a pair of rings 421 and 422 which circulate data in opposite directions . since each of the rings has the same construction , the following description is about one of them . the description of the control unit and other units provided in the node to communicate with the band unit 405 is omitted . cell receiving unit 311 , mainly composed of optical - electric converter 311a and serial - parallel converter 311b recognizes boundaries and arrival of ring cells based on the signals received from portion 421a of the transmission ring 421 , and outputs , for example , 8 bit signals . dummy cell generation unit 312 generates dummy cells when the cell receiving unit 311 does not receive a ring cell from the transmission ring 421 owing to transmitting trouble or another cause . selection unit 313 selects either a ring cell received by the cell receiving unit 311 or a dummy cell generated by the dummy cell generation unit 312 . these two units will be described precisely later . cell analysis unit 320 analyzes the cell header of a ring cell received by the cell receiving unit 311 to find its destination and the state . the cell analysis unit 320 comprises self node address register 321 , header information register 322 , comparator 323 and received cell state discrimination circuit 324 . the self node address register 321 holds the self node address of the node . the header information register 322 temporarily holds the cell header of a received ring cell . the comparator 323 outputs a signal indicating whether or not the self node address held in the header information register 322 is identified with the node address set in the cell header of the header information register 322 . the received cell state discrimination circuit 324 outputs signals depending on the detected state of the ring cell based on the state indication bits in the cell header . received cell processing unit 330 is composed of terminal discrimination / cell conversion circuit 331 and cell distribution circuit 332 . the terminal discrimination / cell conversion circuit 331 outputs terminal discrimination signals based on the terminal address set in the rvcn of the ring cell and converts a ring cell into a terminal cell when the cell analysis unit 320 has detected that the received ring cell is bound for the node itself and is occupied . the cell distribution circuit 332 delivers the converted terminal cells to receiving buffers 341 and 342 in order to transfer them to each terminal , based on the terminal discrimination signals . the receiving buffers 341 and 342 are provided to adjust the difference between the transmitting speed of the transmission paths and the transferring speed between the transmission rings and the terminals . the capacity of the receiving buffers are determined according to statistics considering the dispersion of transmitting speed . the terminal cells stored in the receiving buffers 341 and 342 are transferred to each terminal through unillustrated transferring paths . thus , since cells are transferred to the terminals according to the terminal addresses , it is easy to enhance the coefficient of utilization of the entire system by connecting a number of terminals with each node . transmitted cell processing unit 350 converts terminal cells transferred from terminals into ring cells and stores them to the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 depending on their quality classes of communication . the transmitted cell processing unit 350 comprises cell header picking out circuits 351 and 352 , cell header analysis circuit 353 , cell conversion circuits 354 and 355 , and distribution circuit 356 . the cell header picking out circuits 351 and 352 pick out the cell header from a terminal cell transferred from a terminal . the cell header analysis circuit 353 having a table to indicate with which node a terminal is connected , and the like , products the node address of the destination and discriminates the communicative quality class of the cell based on the table and the cell header picked out by the cell header picking out circuits 351 and 352 . the cell conversion circuits 354 and 355 input the node address of the destination produced by the cell header analysis circuit 353 and state indication bits to the rvcn of the terminal cell , consequently to convert the cell into an occupied ring cell . the distribution circuit 356 stores ring cells outputted from the cell conversion circuits 354 or 355 to the transmitting buffers 361 or 362 based on the direction of the cell header analysis circuit 353 . the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 are provided according to the quality class in transmission of data . if the transmitting buffer 361 has priority over the other buffer 362 , the ring cell stored in the transmitting buffer 361 is transmitted with priority . for example , the ring cells stored in the transmitting buffer 361 are transmitted by larger rate than those in the buffer 362 . when window bands of different sizes are assigned to the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 , the bigger one is assigned to the transmitting buffer 361 . moreover , the transmission buffers may be provided to for each terminal so that the terminals can be assigned priorities . released cell producing circuit 363 produces a released cell setting its own node address in the rvcn . cell shifting unit 371 is composed of cell state shifting circuit 371a and buffer 371b . the cell state shifting circuit 371a shifts the state of a ring cell based on the signals indicating the destination and the state of the received cell outputted from the cell analysis unit 320 . more precisely , as shown in fig1 and the left of fig8 the cell state shifting circuit 371a shifts a received ring cell to an idle cell when the received cell is ( 2 ) bound for itself and released , and outputs the received ring cell without shifting the state when it is some of the ring cells ( 1 )( 2 ) are shifted to idle cells because dividing the state transition process into two steps makes the procedure easier ( for example , the node address of the destination need not be considered in the procedure of later - mentioned state transition managing unit 380 ) and omits new idle ring cell producing circuit . however , the procedure is not necessary divided into two steps . the buffer 371b temporarily holds a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a until it is determined which cell is transmitted , this cell or a cell from one of the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 . selector 372 selects one ring cell out of those outputted from the cell shifting unit 371 , the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 and the released cell producing circuit 363 based on the direction of later - mentioned state transition managing unit 380 . cell transmission unit 373 mainly composed of parallel - serial converter 373a and electric - optical converter 373b , transmits a ring cell selected by the selector 372 to the other portion 421b of the transmission ring 421 as an optical signal . the state transition managing unit 380 controls the selector 372 and other units so that a proper ring cell can be transmitted based on the state of the ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a of the cell shifting unit 371 , the lengths of the queue ( q ) in the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 , and the remaining amount of the window band ( w ). the state transition managing unit 380 comprises shifting cell state discrimination circuit 381 , window band counter 382 , received cell number counter 383 and managing circuit 384 . the shifting cell state discrimination circuit 381 having the same construction as the received cell state discrimination circuit 324 , discriminates the state of a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a . the window band counter 382 counts down the remaining amount of the window band and indicates the exhaustion of the window band as zero . the received cell number counter 383 counts the number of the ring cells received from the portion 421a of the transmission ring 421 and presets the window band counter 382 when the number has reached a specified value . the managing circuit 384 controls the cell shifting unit 371 , the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 , the released cell producing circuit 363 and the selector 372 based on the signals outputted from the shifting cell state discrimination circuit 381 and other units . the managing circuit 384 , more precisely , executes management as shown in fig1 , 12 , 13 and the right of fig8 . fig8 and 12 show the same contents , the former being sorted the state of a received ring cell as the key , and the latter being sorted the remaining amount of the window band ( w ) and the length of the queue ( q ) in the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 as the key . although fig1 shows a sequential judgement of conditions for the controls , in an actual hardware circuit , parallel judgements of the conditions can be constructed by using and gates , or gates or the like . in the following description , ( number ) or ( number . number ) represent each column of fig1 , and ( s number ) corresponds to each step of fig1 . the managing unit 384 , when a ring cell is outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a , judges the existence of the remaining window band ( s1 ), and the existence of a waiting ring cell at the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 ( s2 and s3 ). after that , the operation breaks into two as follows . ( 1 ) when the window band is left ( s1 : w & gt ; 0 ), and the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 have data ( s2 : q & gt ; 0 ), ( 1 . 1 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is idle ( s3 : no , s4 : no ), the managing circuit 384 orders either the transmitting buffers 361 or 362 to output a cell , and the selector 372 to select one . then , the occupied ring cell stored in the head of the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 are outputted to the transmission ring 421 ( s6 ). here , the window band counter 382 decrements ( s5 ). ( 1 . 2 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is occupied ( s3 : yes ), the managing circuit 384 orders the selector 372 to select the signal of the cell shifting unit 371 . because the ring cell must be bound for another node , the managing circuit 384 transmits the received ring cell to the transmission ring 421 ( s8 ). ( 1 . 3 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is released ( s3 : no , s4 : yes ), the ring cell occupied at the transmitting buffers 361 or 362 is transmitted to the transmission ring 421 ( s6 ) in the same manner as the above ( 1 . 1 ). however , in this case , the window band counter 382 does not decrement . ( 2 ) if the window band is left ( s1 : w & gt ; 0 ), and there is no data in the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 ( s2 : q = 0 ), ( 2 . 1 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is idle ( s7 : yes ), the managing circuit 384 orders the released cell producing circuit 363 to output a released ring cell bound for itself and the selector 372 to select the signal of the released cell producing circuit 363 ( s10 ). here , the window band counter 382 decrements one ( s9 ). the released ring cell is transmitted in order to give the right of data transmission to another node . ( 2 . 2 ) ( 2 . 3 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is occupied or released ( s7 : no ), the managing circuit 384 orders the selector 372 to select the signal of the cell shifting unit 371 to transmit the received ring cell to the transmission ring 421 ( s8 ). this is because of no data to be transmitted when the cell is released , and because of the same reason as ( 1 . 2 ) when the cell is occupied . ( 3 ) if the window band is not left ( s1 : w = 0 ), and the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 ( s11 : q & gt ; 0 ) have data . ( 3 . 1 )( 3 . 2 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is idle or occupied ( s12 : no ), the managing circuit 384 orders the selector 372 to select the signal of the cell shifting unit 371 to transmit the received cell to the transmission ring 421 ( s13 ). this is because the data can not be transmitted because of no window band left when the cell is idle , and because of the same reason as ( 1 . 2 ) when it is occupied . ( 3 . 3 ) if a ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a is released ( s12 : yes ), the managing circuit 384 orders the transmitting buffers 361 or 362 to transmit an occupied cell to the transmission ring 421 ( s14 ) in the same manner as ( 1 . 1 ). in this case , the window band counter 382 does not decrement . ( 4 ) if no window band is left ( s1 : w = 0 ) and there are no data at the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 ( s11 : q = 0 ), the managing circuit 384 orders the selector 372 to select the signal of the cell shifting unit 371 in the same manner as ( 3 . 1 ) to transmit the received ring cell to the transmission ring 421 ( s13 ), whatever the state of the ring cell outputted from the cell state shifting circuit 371a . the following is a description of loopback as an example of procedure and construction against trouble when ring cells become untransmittable because of the trouble arisen in the transmission rings 421 and 422 . when a trouble arises at the upper stream of a node in the transmission ring 421 , the cell receiving unit 311 incapable of receiving a ring cell for a certain period of time reports it to unillustrated managing layer unit . the dummy cell generation unit 312 generates a ring cell of either being idle or released as a dummy cell according to the direction of the managing layer unit . the selection unit 313 inputs the ring cell generated by the dummy cell generation unit 312 to the cell analysis unit 320 , the received cell processing unit 330 and the cell shifting unit 371 according to the direction of the managing layer unit . the received cell processing unit 330 never carries out receiving procedure because occupied ring cells are never inputted . on the other hand , the cell analysis units 320 , cell shifting unit 371 and the like can transmit ring cell stored in the transmitting buffers 361 and 362 by the ordinary operation . also , the other nodes positioned lower stream of this node can carry out data transmission by using a ring cell transmitted from this node unless the troubled point is therebetween the transmission ring 421 . in the above example , the dummy cell generation unit 312 and the selection unit 313 are constructed separately , but they may be united . the following is as shown in fig1 ( a )( b ), a description of the operation of loopback if troubles arise between ln1 and ln2 in the both transmission rings l and r when local nodes ( lns ) 1 - 5 and a center node ( cn ) are connected together to make both rings l and r in current use . ( 1 ) first , the occurrence of the trouble is detected by each of the cell receiving units 311 in the left - handed ring of ln1 and the right - handed ring of ln2 . ( 2 ) each managing layer unit of lns 1 and 2 orders each of the dummy cell generation units 312 and each of the selection units 313 in the left - handed ring of ln1 and the right - handed ring of ln2 to generate a dummy cell and to select it respectively . consequently , data transmission in both directions is restored in a very short time as shown in fig1 ( a ). ( 3 ) when the managing layer units of ln1 and ln2 output information of the trouble by using a dummy cell generated by the dummy cell generation unit 312 , the information is transmitted to each of the lower stream node like an ordinary data transmission . ( 5 ) if the managing layer unit of the cn detected the troubled point judges that loopback should be done , it directs it to the lns 1 - 5 through a physical layer . ( 6 ) as shown in fig1 ( b ), ln2 turns back right - handed ( connect the left - handed cell transmission unit 373 with the right - handed cell receiving unit 311 ), and ln1 turns back left - handed ( connect the right - handed cell transmission unit 373 with the left - handed cell receiving unit 311 ). at that time , switching is synchronized with the transmission of a dummy cell so that the phase of the dummy cell which is being transmitted can not be turbulent . data transmission in the area which is not involved in the trouble is carried out without interruption because the dummy cell generation unit 312 continues to generate dummy cells until the loopback is completed . ( 7 ) when the loopback is completed , ln1 and ln2 report it to the cn , and the network managing unit of the cn confirms the completion . according to the above example , a node having window band left can carry out data transmission when it received a released ring cell , but a node , only after exhausted the window band , may be designed to carry out data transmission to increase their chances of transmission . when a node which exhausted the window band receives a released ring cell bound for itself , it transmits an idle ring cell even it has data to be transmitted , but it may be designed to be able to occupy the ring cell . when a node which exhausted the window band and has no data to be transmitted , received a released ring cell bound for itself , the node transmits an idle ring cell , but it may be designed to transmit the released cell without converting to another or to alternate . the window band may be reset when a node has received an idle or released cell bound for itself . when a node transmits an released ring cell , the window band decreases ( w - 1 ), but it may be designed not to decrease , to decrease once per twice , or to decrease until it reaches a certain amount and keep the rest . when a node transmits an occupied ring cell by using a ring cell released by another node , the window band does not decrease ( w ), but it may be designed to decrease . consequently , as long as a node is designed , after exhausted the window band , to be able to use a ring cell released by another node which has the window band left and data to be transmitted , the assignment of the window band , the above setting of conditions and the like can be done according to the types and transmission frequency of data to be transmitted because the chances of successful burst transmission and the like is enhanced . furthermore , ring cells each of which is one of being occupied , idle and released and those each of which is either occupied or unoccupied may be employed at the same time to transmit variable bit rate ( vbr ) data and continuous bit rate ( cbr ) data respectively . these two types of ring cells may be discriminated by a discriminating bit and a window band may be assigned to each ring cell according to its type . although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention , they should be construed as being included therein .

7Electricity

hydroxyl ions have been discovered to possess a wide variety of surprising therapeutic effects . certain compounds and mixtures of such compounds have been found to have the outstanding and unexpected property of modulating or attenuating one or more of the harmful effects of hydroxyl ions , preferably without substantially interfering with the surprising and unexpected benefits that have been found obtainable from hydroxyl ion component -- containing compositions , such as the present compositions , once the harmful effects of the hydroxyl ion component , in particular the hydroxyl ions , have been modulated . in addition , the present compounds and mixtures thereof can assist , when used in combination with hydroxyl ions , in achieving benefits , for example , desired therapeutic effects and other beneficial results . the present compounds are generally described as n , n - disubstituted - aminoacetate salts , substituted n , n - disubstituted - aminoacetate salts and mixtures thereof . a useful group of compounds are those having the formula : ## str4 ## wherein each r is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl , hydroxyalkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl and substituted counterparts thereof ; each r 1 is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl , hydroxyalkyl and substituted counterparts thereof ; r 2 is selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl , aralkyl , heterocyclic , heterocyclicalkyl and substituted counterparts thereof ; each r 3 is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl , hydroxyalkyl , hydroxy , aryl and substituted counterparts thereof and y + is selected from the group consisting of na + , k + , li + , ( ch 3 ) 4 n + , ( c 2 h 5 ) 4 n + , ( ch 3 ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ) 4 n + , c 6 h 5 ( ch 3 ) 3 n +, and guanidinium ; and mixtures thereof . preferably one r group is h . a preferred group of such compounds are those having the formula ## str5 ## wherein each r is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms , hydroxyalkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl , phenyl and substituted counterparts thereof , more preferably from h , ch 3 , ch 2 oh , and c 6 h 5 , and still more preferably from ch 3 , ch 2 oh and c 6 h 5 ; each r 1 is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms , hydroxyalkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and substituted counterparts thereof ; more preferably from h , ch 3 , ch 2 oh and c 2 h 5 , still more preferably from h , ch 3 and ch 2 oh ; r 2 is selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms , hydroxyalkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl having 3 to 6 carbon atoms , aryl , more preferably phenyl , aralkyl , more preferably phenylalkyl , heterocyclic , heterocyclicalkyl and substituted counterparts thereof ; each r 3 is independently selected from the group consisting of h , alkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms , hydroxyalkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms , hydroxy , aryl , more preferably phenyl , and substituted counterparts thereof , more preferably from h , oh , ch 3 and c 2 h 5 , and still more preferably from h and oh ; and y + is selected from the group consisting of na + , k + , li + , ( ch 3 ) 4 n + , ( c 2 h 5 ) 4 n + , ( ch 3 ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ) 4 n + , c 6 h 5 ( ch 3 ) 3 n + , and guanidinium ; and mixtures thereof . preferably , at least one r is hydroxyalkyl or at least one r 3 is hydroxy or hydroxyalkyl . more preferably , each r is independently selected from hydroxy and hydroxymethyl . in one embodiment r or r 1 is hydroxymethyl and / or each r 3 is hydroxy . when r 2 is h , n - alkyl , ch 2 oh or phenylalkyl , one or both rr 3 chchr 1 -- groups are preferably other than ch 2 ohch 2 -- or ch 2 chohch 2 --. alkyl is any saturated non - aromatic hydrocarbon radical . examples of the alkyl groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having 1 to about 5 or more carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , t - butyl and the like . examples of the hydroxyalkyl groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having 1 to about 5 or more carbon atoms , such as the alkyl groups noted above substituted with one or more , preferably only one , hydroxy group . the hydroxy group or groups can be located at any point or points on the alkyl chain except the alpha carbon atom , for example , on the beta or gamma carbon atom of the alkyl chain . examples of cycloalkyl groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having about 3 to about 7 or more carbon atoms , such as cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl and the like . aryl is any hydrocarbon radical having an available bonding cite on an aromatic hydrocarbon ring . examples of the aryl groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having 6 to about 9 or more carbon atoms , such as phenyl , indenyl , condensed aromatic compounds and the like . examples of the aralkyl groups for which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having 7 to about 12 or more carbon atoms , such as phenylmethyl , phenylethyl , phenylbutyl , phenylhexyl and the like . heterocyclic is any radical including a ring having at least one carbon atom and at least one heteroatom ( an atom other than a carbon atom ), such as n , s , o and the like . examples of the heterocyclic groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having about 4 to about 8 or more carbon atoms , such as ## str6 ## and the like . examples of the heterocyclicalkyl groups from which certain of the above - noted substituents can be chosen include , but are not limited to , such groups having about 5 to about 10 or more carbon atoms , such as ## str7 ## and the like . the term &# 34 ; substituted counterpart thereof &# 34 ; as it relates to any of the above - noted substituents ( other than h ) refers to such substituent in which one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by one or more other species including , but not limited to , monovalent hydrocarbon groups , such as alkyl , alkenyl and alkynyl ( such as ethenyl , propenyl , butenyl , ethynyl and the like unsaturated hydrocarbon groups having 2 to about 6 or more carbon atoms ) and aryl ; heterocyclic groups ; halo such as f , cl , br and i ; nh 2 ; no 2 ; alkoxy ; alkylthio ; aryloxy ; arylthio ; alkanoyl ; alkanoyloxy ; aroyl ; aroyloxy ; acetyl ; carbamoyl ; alkylamino ; dialkylamino ; arylamino ; alkylarylamino ; diarylamino ; alkanoylamino ; alkylsulfinyl ; alkylsulfenyl ; alkylsulfonyl ; alkylsulfonylamido ; azo ; benzyl ; carboxy ; cyano ; guanyl ; guanidino ; imino ; phosphinyl ; silyl ; thioxo ; ureido or vinylidene or where one or more carbon atoms are replaced by one or more other species including , but not limited to , n , o or s . in a particularly useful embodiment , each r 2 is independently selected from h , ch 3 , c 2 h 5 , h 2 nc (═ nh ) -- nh ( ch 2 ) 3 --, nh 2 coch 2 --, cyclopentyl , hoocch 2 --, hoocch 2 ch 2 --, h 2 ncoch 2 ch 2 --, ## str8 ## ch 3 ch 2 ch ( oh ) ch 2 ch 2 --, ch 3 ch 2 ch ( ch 3 )--, ( ch 3 ) chch 2 --, nh 2 ( ch 2 ) 4 --, ch 3 sch 2 ch 2 --, ## str9 ## c 6 h 5 --, c 6 h 5 ch 2 -- ch 3 ch ( oh )--, ## str10 ## ( ch 3 ) 2 ch --, ( ch 3 ) 3 c --, cf 3 --, ## str11 ## cf 3 cf 2 --, ( ch 2 oh ) 3 c --, ## str12 ## when all of the r , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 groups are h , the above - noted compounds are not chiral . however , when only one r is not h , the compounds are chiral ; therefore , the compounds represent a racemate or either of two enantiomers . if any two , three or all four of the r , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 groups are not h , then the above - noted compounds represent any one of two or more diasteriomers or meso forms , and any of the component racemates and enantiomers . this invention includes each of the possible isomers , steroisomers , tautomers and mixtures thereof of the above - noted compounds . one type of preferred compounds are those derived from natural amino acids , i . e ., those in which the & gt ; chr 2 coo -- moiety is derived from a natural amino acid . in most instances , these compounds belong to the l - series of amino acids . specific examples of hydroxyl ion modulating compounds include sodium salts , potassium salts , tetramethylammonium salts , tetraethylammonium salts , benzyltrimethylammonium salts and guanidinium salts and mixtures thereof . such salts are derived from acids selected from n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid , n , n - bis -( 1 - hydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetic acid , n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 2 - phenylethyl ) aminoacetic acid , n , n - bis -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetic acid , 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ! succinamic acid , 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino !- 3 - phenylpropanoic acid , 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , 2 n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino !-( 3 - pyridyl ) acetic acid , 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino !- 3 , 3 , 3 - trifluoropropanoic acid , n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ! phenylacetic acid , n , n - bis -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid , n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl - n -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid and n - 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid . this invention further comprises therapeutic combinations or compositions of the hydroxyl ion modulating component , as described herein , and a hydroxyl ion component . the hydroxyl ion component concentration can be obtained by combining excess base ( yoh ) with the substituted or unsubstituted n , n - aminoacetate salt or salts . a wide range of hydroxyl ion component concentrations are uniquely therapeutically effective . in order to obtain an effective hydroxyl ion modulating effect , the molar concentration of the hydroxyl ion modulating component in the present compositions is greater than the molar concentration of the hydroxyl ion component . in one embodiment , the molar ratio of the hydroxyl ion modulating component ( or himc ) to the hydroxyl ion component ( or hic ) is greater than 1 and less than 5 . 2 , or greater than 10 . 5 . more preferably , the molar ratio of himc to hic in the present compositions is about 3 to about 9 . when used in aqueous solutions , the preferred molar concentration range for the himc is in the range of about 0 . 01 to about 2 . 2 . the innovative compositions of this invention may be prepared as solutions , powders , mouth washes , ointments , creams , gels and other convenient pharmaceutical forms . effective amounts of appropriate , for example , conventional and well known , ingredients , such as carriers and the like , may be included in order to provide the desired form of the present compositions . although the present compositions may be stored for use and / or administered in a solid , e . g . powder , or other form , in use these compositions are combined with a medium effective to ionize the hydroxyl ion component to form hydroxyl ions . in many instances , this ionizing medium is aqueous - based . for example , if the composition is administered as a powder to the skin of a human or animal , moisture on the skin ( for example , perspiration or even blood on the skin ) can act as the ionizing medium to form an effective amount of hydroxyl ions which are effectively modulated by the hydroxyl ion modulating component , which preferably is also ionized by the ionizing medium . in a particularly useful embodiment , the present compositions include an effective amount , for example , at least about 20 % or at least about 50 % by weight , of an ionizing medium , more preferably an aqueous - based ionizing medium , such as pyrogen - free water . including the ionizing medium in the present compositions effectively controls the effective concentration of hydroxyl ions in such compositions and , in certain instances , increases the convenience of administering the compositions to humans or animals . the compositions of the present invention preferably contain about 0 . 05 % to about 20 % by weight of active ingredients , for example , himc and hic . the compositions may also be concentrated , for example , by lyophilization or vacuum volatilization of a portion of the solvent , as desired for other purposes . one or more other ingredients may be added to the compositions , as desired , including , but not limited to , dyes , pigments , perfumes , etc ., for example , up to a total of about 10 % by weight . also , for application to human or animal tissue , the compositions may contain constituents normally present in preparations for this purpose , such as emulsifiers , fatty substances , plant extracts , preservatives , tonicity adjusters and solvents in the customary , effective amounts . the compositions of the present invention may contain any constituent which is not unduly irritating to human or animal tissue either alone or in combination with the active ingredients , and does not significantly affect the ph of the composition . the present compositions are preferably free of anionic surface active agents . the present invention includes methods for providing one or more desired therapeutic effects to a human or an animal . such methods comprise administering to a human or animal in need of the desired therapeutic effect or effects an amount of the present pharmaceutical compositions effective in providing the desired therapeutic effect or effects to the human or animal . such desired therapeutic effects can result or be embodied in or lead to the mitigation , for example , the curing , relieving , managing , healing , treating and / or preventing , of various conditions . among the desired therapeutic effects that can be obtained using the present compositions are ocular therapeutic effects , oral therapeutic effects , ear , nose and throat therapeutic effects , dermal therapeutic effects , topical therapeutic effects , wound therapeutic effects ( that is therapeutic effects to wounds , in particular wound healing effects ) and internal therapeutic effects . among the ocular therapeutic effects that can be obtained using the present compositions are : ocular wound healing effects ; ocular disinfecting effects ; ocular analgesic effects and ocular antiseptic effects . the present ocular therapeutic effects are preferably obtained by administering to a mammalian eye or eyes an amount of the present therapeutic composition effective in providing the desired therapeutic effect to the mammalian eye or eyes . compositions which include effective amounts of both himc and hic have various applications in contact lens care . for example , such compositions are useful in providing cleaning and / or disinfecting of contact lenses , in reducing contact lens - caused ocular irritation and in increasing contact lens wear comfort . when used in contact lens care applications , such compositions are contacted with the contact lens to be cared for at conditions effective to obtain the desired contact lens treatment or beneficial effect or effects . the present contact lens care compositions may include effective amounts of one or more additional components , for example , tonicity adjusters , wearability components , surfactants , viscosity enhancing components and the like which are conventionally used in contact lens care products . when used to provide ocular therapeutic effects or to care for contact lenses , the present compositions preferably are ophthalmically acceptable . the term &# 34 ; ophthalmically acceptable &# 34 ; refers to the property of a composition whereby no significant long term detrimental effect results if an effective amount of the composition is administered to the eye or eyes of a human or animal , in particular to the eye or eyes of a mammal . one would expect that the present compositions with relatively large hydroxyl ion concentrations would cause irritation , or even damage , to the mammalian eye , which is one of the most sensitive body organs . thus , it is indeed surprising and unexpected that the present hydroxyl ion - containing compositions are effective in providing ocular therapeutic effects and in caring for contact lenses , and are , at the same time , ophthalmically acceptable . among the oral therapeutic effects that can be obtained using the present compositions include the treatment and / or management of gingivitis , plaque removal and prevention , healing of oral wounds , for example , from dental and surgical procedures , treatment and / or management of cold and other mouth sores . the present composition can also be used to deodorize the mouth , and to provide oral antiseptic effects and oral analgesic effects . among the ear , nose and throat therapeutic effects that can be provided using the present compositions are the reduction and elimination of ear infections and ear pain ; the treatment and / or management of swimmer &# 39 ; s ear ; as an ear , nose and throat antiseptic ; as a nasal spray to provide decongestion ; and as a treatment and / or management agent for sore throat . among the dermal therapeutic effects that can be obtained using the present compositions are healing of dermal wounds , meaning to include , but not limited to , burn healing , and the treatment and / or management of acne , sunburn , diaper rash , jock itch and boils . also , the present compositions can be used to treat contact dermatitis , for example , insect bites / stings , poison ivy / oak and the like ; hemorrhoids ; vaginal infections , for example , yeast infections ; fungal and bacterial infections , for example , athlete &# 39 ; s foot , ringworm and the like ; cuts and abrasions , for example , to provide antimicrobial , antiedema and antierythemia advantages , as well as relief of pain , improvement of the quality of scar tissue and the like ; psoriasis ; inflammation ; decubitus ulcers ; pain ; eczema ; dermatitis ; scabies ; shingles ; hot spots , for example , on animals such as dogs and the like ; and mange in animals . the present compositions can also be used as deodorants . among the internal therapeutic effects which can be obtained using the present compositions are wound healing , including , but not limited to , post - surgical wound healing ; wound cleaning and disinfecting ; analgesic effects ; antimicrobial effects ; pain reduction and the like . one primary therapeutic use for the compositions of this invention is for wound healing . the advantage of this therapy is that a contribution is made to more than one , even many , facets of wound healing . such facets include , but are not limited to , one or more of the following : antimicrobial effects ; reduction of local edema and erythema ; abatement of pain ; increase in the rate of healing ; and improvement in scar tissue quality . the wounds can involve one or more of a variety of tissue lesions including cuts , abrasions , surgical lesions , burns , sunburn , etc . the wounds can be caused by accidents or by disease processes such as acne , bed sores , boils , skin and mouth ulcers , gingivitis , etc . the application of the described therapy can be to human or veterinary medical problems . the therapy can be applied to the skin , mouth , eye , ear or vagina . it can be used as a treatment of an existing medical problem or used prophylactically to prevent lesions , wounds or their sequelae . examples of the prophylactic use of the compositions of this invention include a solution for the treatment of contact lenses and prevention of dental plaque to avert dental caries and gingivitis . skin treatment prior to surgery is also included . the present hydroxyl ion modulating substituted and unsubstituted aminoacetate salts can be prepared by a number of methods . one convenient method comprises the interaction of an appropriate aminoacetic acid shown below with an appropriate base ( yoh ) under conditions effective in neutralizing the acid and forming the corresponding salt . ## str13 ## this method is especially useful since , when various combinations or compositions including the present modulating aminoacetate salts and hydroxyl ion components are desired , excess yoh can be included . the synthesis of compounds of the type represented by formula ( c ) ( below ) can be carried out by a variety of synthetic schemes of which the following is an example . ## str14 ## the reaction of an amine of formula a with a 2 - haloalkanoic acid ester of formula ( b ) yields an ester of formula ( c ). hydrolysis of this ester by any one of several methods yields the corresponding hydroxyl ion modulating compound of the present invention . in this series of reactions , r , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are as described above , x is a halo group , such as chloro , bromo or iodo , and r 4 is lower alkyl , such as methyl or ethyl , the 2 - haloalkanoic acid esters of formula ( b ) can be produced by any suitable method , many of which are conventional and well known in the art . these esters are very effective intermediates to the present hydroxyl ion modulating components in which r 2 is heterocyclic and heterocyclicalkyl , such as those groups including at least one hetero atom selected from n , s and o the reaction of compounds of formulas ( a ) and ( b ) can be conducted neat or with solvents , such as , an alkanol , for example , ethanol , 2 - propanol or 1 - propanol ; acetonitrile , dimethylformamide , etc . the reaction mixture is conveniently stirred and heated , for example , to temperatures in the range of about 40 ° c . to the boiling point of the solvent , for a period of about 30 minutes to about 12 hours . hydrolysis of a compound of formula ( c ) can be conducted either under acidic or basic conditions . in either instance , it is conveniently conducted in a water soluble solvent containing water and the solvent , such as methanol , ethanol , 1 - propanol or 2 - propanol , etc . the solution is conveniently stirred and heated to a temperature in the range of about 40 ° c . to the boiling point of the solvent mixture for a period of about 30 minutes to about 8 hours . if basic hydrolysis is carried out , a molar excess of a base , such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide and the like , can be conveniently employed . this produces a salt which is carefully acidified , for example , with hydrochloric acid , sulfuric acid and the like , to produce the modulating compound of the present invention . the product may precipitate from the solution and be isolated by filtration or by chromotography , or the reaction mixture may be evaporated in vacuo and the modulating compound extracted using an organic solvent , water or a mixture of water and an organic solvent . the modulating compound can be isolated from a solvent by evaporation in vacuo . other methods of producing the modulating compounds include , starting with 3 . hydrolysis of anhydrides , i . e ., where z = ## str15 ## 4 . hydrolysis of acid halides , i . e ., where z = halo . 5 . hydrolysis of amides and related compounds , i . e ., where z =-- conh 2 , -- conh ( alkyl ), -- conh ( alkyl ) 2 , -- conhnh 2 , etc .). the present invention is illustrated by the following non - limiting examples wherein all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise defined . since most of the uses of the compositions of this invention are for application topically to a tissue , they can be applied as powders , ointments , or solutions . the solutions can be conveniently applied as sprays and the solids as aerosols . the concentration of the active ingredient may be in the range of about 0 . 1 % to about 20 % depending on the specific preparations and the number of daily applications which may be from once a day or less frequently to hourly or more frequently . the therapeutic activities described were established by state - of - the - art assays . some examples are as follows using various dilutions of aqueous solutions of 41 % by weight of pure sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate + 1 . 5 % by weight sodium hydroxide ( total solids = 42 . 5 %). for convenience this solution is designated as solution a . two parallel 6 cm incisions were made through the panniculus of rats and a skin separation of at least 1 cm occurred . 200 microliters of solution a was instilled in the right wound and 200 microliters in the left wound . this procedure was repeated ( with different rats ) using a 1 : 5 dilution and a 1 : 20 dilution of solution a with pyrogen - free distilled water . the wounds were closed with 6 interrupted 4 - 0 nylon sutures . at 7 and 14 days , the animals were sacrificed and 8 mm strips cut from each wound ( 3 strips per wound , 6 strips per rat ). these strips were then disrupted using an instron 4201 tensiometer and the results expressed as breaking strength in kilograms . after 14 days , the breaking strength of solution a was 104 % of the control ( no solution instillation ), the 1 : 5 dilution of solution a was 118 %, and the 1 : 20 dilution of solution a was 198 %. briefly , a chronic , granulating wound was created in a rat by excising a full thickness dorsal scald which had been inoculated with e . coli 5 days after injury . the granulating bed was then treated once with solution a and , using different rats , with various dilutions ( with pyrogen - free distilled water ) thereof . contraction was assessed by serial area measurement of the wound . all areas are expressed as a percentage of the original area and plotted against time . at 7 days a biopsy for quantitative bacteriology was taken to gauge the presence of ongoing infection . at sacrifice the healed wound were disrupted using the tensiometer as previously described . after 18 days the percent of the wound that was open for solution a was 53 % of the control , a 1 : 5 dilution of solution a was 48 % of the control , and a 1 : 20 dilution of solution a was 77 % of the control . longer periods of observation revealed similar differences . the antibacterial activities of solution a and 1 : 5 , 1 : 10 , 1 : 20 and a 1 : 40 dilutions of solution a ( with pyrogen - free distilled water ) were evaluated versus e . coli ( 8 × 10 7 organisms ), ps . aeruginosa ( 6 × 10 6 organisms ), s . aureus ( 4 × 10 5 organisms ), strep . pneumoniae ( 4 × 10 6 organisms ), s . epidermidis ( 4 × 10 6 organisms ) and strep . faecalis ( 4 × 10 6 organisms ). each of these organisms was added to sterile tubes containing 3 ml of the test solution . at times 0 , 15 , 30 and 60 minutes after addition of the organisms , the solutions were plated ( e . coli and ps . aeraginosa on mcconkey , all others on blood agar ). colony counts were taken after 24 hours of incubation at 37 ° c . the effectiveness of the solutions increased with time . by 60 minutes , solution a and each of its four dilutions were completely effective in killing e . coli and ps . aeruginosa whereas only the three higher concentrations completely killed s . aureus , strep . pneumoniae , s . epidermidis and strep . faecalis . the effect of solution a and a 1 : 20 , 1 : 40 , 1 : 60 , 1 : 80 , 1 : 100 and 1 : 1000 dilutions of solution a ( with pyrogen - free distilled water ) on tissue cultured vero cells was examined . vero cells were chosen for the propagation and quantitation of herpes simplex viruses and were transformed african green monkey kidney fibroblasts . the medium used in the vero cell cultures was earle &# 39 ; s minimal essential medium with supplements . only a very slight detrimental effect on the tissue culture growth was seen with solution a . however , no detrimental effect was seen with any of the dilutions . methyl bromoacetate ( 152 . 98 grams , 1 mole ) is dissolved in 1 - propanol ( 500 ml .) and bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine ( 105 . 14 grams , 2 moles ) and triethylamine ( 111 . 1 grams , 1 . 1 moles ) are added and the mixture is stirred and heated at reflux for 3 hours . the mixture is treated with 10 normal sodium hydroxide ( 110 ml ., 1 . 1 moles ) and the solvents are removed by distillation in vacuo . the residue is filtered and the solid is washed with 1 - propanol . the combined filtrates are dissolved in ethanol ( 400 ml ) and 10 normal sodium hydroxide ( 130 ml , 1 . 3 moles ) is added . the mixture is stirred and heated at reflux for 3 hours . the mixture is acidified with 12 normal hydrochloric acid ( 108 ml , 1 . 3 moles ). upon cooling , n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid separates and is collected by filtration , and is washed with a 50 % aqueous ethanol and dried . n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid ( 364 , 933 grams , 2 . 2144 moles ) ( this material is 99 % pure ; it contains 1 % or 3 . 613 grams of h 2 o ) is added with stirring to a cooled solution of pure sodium hydroxide ( 88 . 57 grams , 2 . 2144 moles ) in pyrogen - free distilled water ( 400 ml .). the mixture is stirred until solution is effected . after reaching room temperature , the solution is stirred while enough pyrogen - free distilled water is added to make the total volume 1 . 000 ml . the solution is sterilized by filtration . this solution is 41 % or 2 . 2144 molar in sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate . n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid ( 364 . 933 grams , 2 . 2144 moles ) ( of 99 % material ) is added with stirring to a cooled solution of pure sodium hydroxide ( 103 . 57 grams , 2 . 589 moles ) in pyrogen - free distilled water . the mixture is stirred until solution is effected . after reaching room temperature , the solution is stirred while enough pyrogen - free distilled water is added to make a total volume of 1 , 000 ml . the solution is sterilized by filtration . this solution is 41 % or 2 . 2144 molar in sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and 1 . 5 % or 0 , 375 molar in sodium hydroxide . thus , the solution contains 42 . 5 % of solute . the molar ratio of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate to excess hydroxyl ions is 5 . 9 : 1 . this solution serves as a &# 34 ; stock &# 34 ; solution from which less concentrated solutions can be prepared by diluting 1 : 5 , 1 : 10 , 1 : 20 , 1 : 50 , 1 : 100 , etc . with pyrogen - free sterile distilled water . by using relatively more or less sodium hydroxide as described in example 3 , other combinations are made . one particularly useful molar ratio range of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate to excess hydroxyl ions is in the range of 9 : 1 to 3 : 1 . by carrying out a reaction as described in example 2 except that the sodium hydroxide is replaced by an equimolar amount of g . guanidine there is obtained , respectively , the a . lithium , b . potassium , c . tetramethylammonium , d . tetraethylammonium , e . tetrabutylammonium , f . benzyltrimethylammonium , g . guanidinium salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid . by carrying out a reaction as described in example 3 except that the sodium hydroxide is replaced by an equimolar amount of the bases listed in example 4 to give combinations of a . the lithium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and lithium hydroxide , b . the potassium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and potassium hydroxide , c . the tetramethylammonium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and tetramethylammonium hydroxide , d . the tetraethylammonium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and tetraethylammonium hydroxide , e . the tetrabutylammonium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide , f . the benzyltrimethylammonium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide , and g . and the guanidinium salt of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and guanidine . preparation of salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyalkyl ) aminoacetates substituted on the 2 - carbon atom of the acetate moiety , with and without excess base the procedure as described in example 1 is repeated eight ( 8 ) times except that the bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine is replaced by an equimolar amount of one of the following : 1 . bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) amine , 2 . bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amine , 3 . bis -( 1 - hydroxy - 2 - propyl ) amine , 4 . bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 2 - phenylethyl ) amine , 5 . bis -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2 - propyl ) amine , 6 . bis -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) amine , 7 . n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - hydroxypropylamine , and 8 . n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 3 - hydroxypropylamine . the following products are obtained , respectively : 1a . n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid , 2a . n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid , 3a . n , n - bis -( 1 - hydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetic acid , 4a . n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 2 - phenylethyl ) aminoacetic acid , 5a . n , n - bis -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetic acid , 6a . n , n - bis -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid , 7a . n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 2hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid and 8a . n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetic acid . the procedure described in example 2 is repeated eight ( 8 ) times except that each time the procedure is repeated the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by one of the eight ( 8 ) aminoacetic acids described above . the following products are obtained , respectively : 1b . sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate , 2b . sodium n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate , 3b . sodium n , n - bis -( 1 - hydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetate , 4b . sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 2 - phenylethyl ) aminoacetate , 5b . sodium n , n - bis -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2propyl ) aminoacetate , 6b . sodium n , n - bis -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate , 7b . sodium n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 2hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate , and 8b . sodium n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate . the procedure described in example 3 is repeated eight ( 8 ) times except that each time the procedure is repeated the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of one of the eight ( 8 ) aminoacetic acids described above . the following products are obtained , respectively : 1c . sodium n , n - bis -( 2hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 2c . sodium n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 3c . sodium n , n - bis -( 1 - hydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 4c . sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 2 - phenylethyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 5c . sodium n , n - bis -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2 - propyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 6c . sodium n , n - bis -( 3hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , 7c . sodium - n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide , and 8c . sodium n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide . the procedure described in example 4 is repeated eight ( 8 ) times except that each time the procedure is repeated the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by one of the eight ( 8 ) aminoacetic acids described above . the following products are obtained , respectively : the ( 1 ) lithium , ( 2 ) potassium , ( 3 ) tetramethylammonium , ( 4 ) tetraethylammonium , ( 5 ) tetrabutylammonium , ( 6 ) benzyltrimethylammonium , and ( 7 ) guanidinium salts of each of one of these aminoacetic acids . the procedure described in example 5 is repeated eight ( 8 ) times except that each time the procedure is repeated the n , n -( bis - 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of one of the eight ( 8 ) aminoacetic acids described above . combinations of one of the seven ( 7 ) salts of each of the eight ( 8 ) aminoacetic acids plus the base used to form the salt are obtained . preparation of sails of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate substituted on the 2 - carbon atom of the acetate moiety by following the procedure described in example 1 , except that the methyl bromoacetate is replaced by an equimolar amount of : by following the procedure described in example 2 , except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic : acid is replaced by the ten ( 10 ) acetic acids noted above , there is obtained , respectively , by following the procedure described except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of the ten ( 10 ) acetic acids noted above , there is obtained , respectively , by following the procedure described in example 4 , except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of the ten ( 10 ) substituted acetic acids noted above , there is obtained , respectively the ( 1 ) lithium , ( 2 ) potassium , ( 3 ) tetramethylammonium , ( 4 ) tetraethylammonium , ( 5 ) tetrabutylammonium , ( 6 ) benzyltrimethylammonium and ( 7 ) guanidinium salts of each of these ten ( 10 ) acetic acids . by following the procedure described in example 5 , except the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of the ten ( 10 ) acetic acids noted above , there is obtained , respectively , the ( 1 ) lithium , ( 2 ) potassium , ( 3 ) tetramethylammonium , ( 4 ) tetraethylammonium , ( 5 ) tetrabutylammonium , ( 6 ) benzylmethylammonium , and ( 7 ) guanidinium salts of each of these ten ( 10 ) acetic acids , each with a molar ratio of substituted acetate salt to excess base of 9 : 1 to 3 : 1 by using the same base that was used to prepare the salt . by conducting the procedure described in example 1 , except that the bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine is replaced by an equimolar quantity of bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amine and the methyl bromoacetate is replaced by an equimolar quantity of methyl 2 - bromoisovalerate , there is obtained 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid . by carrying out the procedure described in example 2 except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar quantity of 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , there is obtained sodium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate . by carrying out the procedure described in example 3 except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar quantity of 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , there is obtained a mixture of 2 . 214 molar sodium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and 0 . 375 molar sodium hydroxide . by carrying out the procedure described in example 4 except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar quantity of 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , there is obtained the lithium , potassium , tetramethylammonium , tetraethylammonium , tetrabutylammonium , benzyltrimethylammonium and guanidinium salts of 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid . by carrying out the procedure described in example 5 except that the n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid is replaced by an equimolar amount of 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovaleric acid , there is obtained lithium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and lithium hydroxide , potassium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and potassium hydroxide , tetramethylammonium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and tetramethylammonium hydroxide , tetraethylammonium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and tetraethylammonium hydroxide , tetrabutylammonium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide , benzyltrimethylammonium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide , and guanidinium 2 - n , n - bis -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ! isovalerate and guanidine . preparation of a solution of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - ethyl ) aminoacetate plus sodium hydroxide for topical administration one hundred ml . of a solution 2 . 2144 molar in n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and 0 . 375 molar in sodium hydroxide in pyrogen - free distilled water is diluted to 1000 ml . using sterile pyrogen - free water and sterile vessels . the resulting solution is used for applying to tissue surfaces by painting , using a sterile cotton swab , spraying from a bottle or from an atomizer . in a similar way other molar ratios of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate to sodium hydroxide may be used , as well as other concentrations of total solids . likewise , the other salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate listed in example 4 and the other bases listed in example 5 may be used instead of those listed above . in addition , the other modulating salts and bases listed in examples 6 , 7 and 8 may be substituted for the sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide . preparation of a solution of sodium n , n - bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate plus sodium hydroxide for topical administration fifty ml . of a solution 2 . 2144 molar in sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and 0 . 375 molar in sodium hydroxide in pyrogen - free distilled water plus 50 ml . of a solution 2 . 2144 molar in sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and 0 . 375 molar in sodium hydroxide in pyrogen - free distilled water is diluted to 1000 ml . using sterile pyrogen - free water and sterile vessels . this solution is used for applying to tissue surfaces by painting , using a sterile cotton swab , spraying from a bottle or from an atomizer . in a similar way other molar ratios of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate plus sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate to sodium hydroxide may be used , as well as other concentrations of total solids . likewise , the other salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate listed in example 4 and of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate listed in example 6 and the other bases listed in examples 5 , 6 and 7 may be used instead of those listed above . in addition , mixtures of the other modulating salts and bases listed in examples 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 may be used instead of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate , sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxypropyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide as described above . one hundred ml . of a solution 2 . 2144 molar in sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and 0 . 0375 molar in sodium hydroxide in pyrogen - free distilled water was lyophilized ( freeze dried ) to give a solid residue . this solid is used to regenerate a solution of any desired concentration by adding pyrogen - free sterile distilled water . it also can be pulverized under sterile conditions and placed in a standard aerosol dispenser for administration to tissue surfaces by aerosol . in a similar way other molar ratios of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate to sodium hydroxide may be used , as well as other concentrations of total solids . likewise , the other salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid listed in example 4 and the other bases listed in example 5 may be used instead of those listed above . in addition , the other modulating salts and bases listed in examples 6 , 7 and 8 may be substituted for the sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide . the solid residue of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide obtained in example 11 by lyophilization is pulverized under sterile conditions and mixed into standard ointments and creams so that the total concentration of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate plus sodium hydroxide is in the range of 1 % to 15 % of the total mixture . these ointments and creams are applied to the tissues for wound healing therapy . in a similar way other molar ratios of sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate to sodium hydroxide may be used , as well as other concentrations of total solids . likewise , the other salts of n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetic acid listed in example 4 and the other bases listed in example 5 may be used instead of those listed above . in addition , the other modulating salts and bases listed in examples 6 , 7 and 8 may be substituted for the sodium n , n - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminoacetate and sodium hydroxide . while this invention has been described with respect to various specific examples and embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and that it can be variously practiced within the scope of the following claims .

2Chemistry; Metallurgy

according to an embodiment of the present invention , disclosed herein is a method for ladder etching to reduce a poly profile step height and to obtain a smooth poly surface , thereby reducing the risk of word line poly abnormalities referring to fig1 , a substrate 10 is provided upon which a plurality of word lines 12 are fabricated . a polysilicon layer 14 is then formed over substrate and word lines using known methods , such as chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) or the like . a planarization process , such as chemical - mechanical planarazation ( cmp ) is then performed to remove the portion of the polysilicon layer 14 residing directly above the word lines 12 , with the resulting structure shown in fig2 . as can be seen , where the total thickness “ t ” of the polysilicon layer is less than the height “ h ” of the word lines , a step region 16 is formed in the polysilicon layer during cmp . in some cases , where the polysilicon layer is deposited to a thickness “ t ” of about 1 , 500 angstroms ( å ), this step height “ h ” can be about 800 å . as shown in fig3 , during subsequent deposition of dielectric 18 , this step height “ h ” can cause an abnormally thick region “ tr ” of dielectric 18 to be formed in the step region 16 . in one example , where the dielectric 18 is deposited to a thickness “ dt ” of about 660 å over the word lines 12 , the thickness “ dts ” of the dielectric 18 in the step region 16 can be nearly twice that thickness ( e . g ., 1300 å ). when a mask layer 20 is applied and etching performed , this thicker layer of dielectric 18 in the step region 16 causes an abnormal polysilicon profile “ ap ” to be formed . now referring to fig5 - 9 , the inventive process will be described . fig5 shows a substrate 22 upon which are formed a plurality of floating gate and control gate pairs 24 . the control gate ( i . e ., the uppermost layer ) may comprise a continuous polysilicon strip that forms a word line for the memory device . for convenience , item 24 will be described hereinafter as the “ word line .” a polysilicon layer 26 is formed over the substrate and gates / wordlines 24 using known methods , such as chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) or the like . this polysilicon layer 26 may have a thickness of from about 1000 å to about 3000 å , and preferably about 1500 å , while thickness of the gate layer 24 may be from about 3000 å to 3600 å . an organic bottom antireflective coating ( barc ) layer 28 may then be provided over the polysilicon layer . it will be appreciated that other easily removable materials may be used in lieu of barc , such as a spin - on organic material ( photoresist ). the barc layer 28 may have a thickness of up to about 1600 å . the barc layer 28 may be formed using appropriate spin - on techniques . the barc layer 28 and a portion of the polysilicon layer 26 ( to a point below the top of the word lines 24 ) may then be removed using a ladder etching process to achieve the profile shown in fig7 . the ladder etching process may be performed follows : etch step 1 may comprise a breakthrough etch ( bt1 ) using cf 4 as the etchant gas . bt1 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 milli - torr ( mt ), a source power of from about 100 watts ( w ) to about 500 w , preferably about 300 watts ( w ), a bias power of from about 30 w to 150 w , preferably about 45 w , an etchant gas flowrate of from about 30 standard cubic centimeters per minute ( sccm ) to about 150 sccm , preferably about 50 sccm , and for a period of about 30 seconds . etch step 2 may be a soft landing etch ( sl1 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . sl1 may be performed at a pressure of about 5 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 350 w , bias power of from about 20 w to about 100 w , and preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 15 seconds . etch step 3 may comprise a second breakthrough etch ( bt2 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . bt2 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 350 w , bias power of from about 30 w to about 150 w , preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 13 seconds . etch step 4 may comprise a second soft landing etch ( sl2 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . sl2 may be performed at a pressure of about 5 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 350 w , bias power of from about 20 w to about 100 w , preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 15 seconds . etch step 5 may comprise a third breakthrough etch ( bt3 ) using 50 cf 4 as the etchant gas . bt3 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 300 w , bias power of from about 30 w to about 150 w , preferably about 45 w , cf 4 flowrate of from about 30 sccm to about 150 sccm , preferably about 50 sccm , and for a period of about 13 seconds . etch step 6 may comprise a third soft landing etch ( sl3 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . sl3 may be performed at a pressure of about 5 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 350 w , bias power of from about 20 w to about 100 w , preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 15 seconds . etch step 7 may comprise a fourth breakthrough etch ( bt4 ) using cf 4 as etchant gas . bt4 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 300 w , bias power of from about 30 w to about 150 w , preferably about 45 w , cf 4 flowrate of from about 30 sccm to about 150 sccm , preferably about 50 sccm , and for a period of about 13 seconds . etch step 8 may comprise a fourth soft landing etch ( sl4 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . sl4 may be performed at a pressure of about 5 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 350 w , bias power of from about 20 w to about 100 w , preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 15 seconds . etch step 9 may comprise a fifth breakthrough etch ( bt5 ) using cf 4 as etchant gas . bt5 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 300 w , bias power of from about 30 w to about 150 w , preferably about 45 w , cf 4 flowrate of from about 30 sccm to about 150 sccm , preferably about 50 sccm , and for a period of about 13 seconds . etch step 10 may comprise a fifth soft landing etch ( sl5 ) using a combination of hbr and heo 2 as etchant gases . sl5 may be performed at a pressure of about 5 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 300 w , bias power of from about 20 w to about 100 w , preferably about 36 w , hbr flowrate of from about 100 sccm to about 300 sccm , preferably about 200 sccm , heo 2 flowrate of from about 10 sccm to about 30 sccm , preferably about 23 sccm , and for a period of about 10 seconds etch step 11 may comprise a sixth break through etch ( bt6 ) using cf 4 as etchant gas . bt6 may be performed at a pressure of about 4 mt , source power of from about 100 w to about 500 w , preferably about 300 w , bias power of from about 30 w to about 150 w , preferably about 45 w , cf 4 flowrate of from about 30 sccm to about 150 sccm , preferably about 50 sccm , and for a period of about 13 seconds . the results of ladder etch steps 1 - 11 can be seen in fig7 , in which the barc layer 28 and a portion of the polysilicon layer 26 ( to a point just below the top of the word lines 24 ) are removed . the ladder etch can be seen to create a smooth curved profile . referring to fig8 , a thin dielectric layer 30 is then applied over the etched polysilicon layer 26 . in one embodiment , the dielectric layer 30 comprises sion deposited to a thickness of about 660 å . acceptable alternative dielectric materials for use as layer 30 may be sin , cvd amorphous carbon , or the like . a masking layer 32 is then applied over the dielectric layer 30 . the polysilicon layer 26 is then etched using a dry etching technique ( e . g ., hardmask etch , in situ o 2 ashing , then poly etching ) to provide a trench 34 between adjacent word lines 24 ( fig9 ). as can be seen , the dielectric ( sion ) layer 30 and polysilicon layer 26 adjacent to the trench 34 ( identified as area “ pp ”) are free from abnormalities . in a further step , a layer of sin ( i . e ., an sin cap layer ) may be applied to protect the peripheral logic elements on the chip . in one embodiment , this sin cap layer may be about 1600 å thick . if this step is performed , then the sin layer would be applied after the step of depositing the polysilicon layer 26 . this sin layer would be removed after the ladder etching steps are performed . the inventive process is simple and thus can be implemented at low cost . further , a word line polysilicon layer having a curved surface is easy to be identified . that is , the curved surface created by the inventive technique is distinguishable from the flat - plate type profile that typically results from cmp processes . additionally , the inventive process solves the problems associated with abnormal poly profiles in embedded flash memory cells . while the foregoing invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments , various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . accordingly , all such modifications and changes are considered to be within the scope and range of equivalents of the appended claims .

7Electricity

referring to all of the drawings and in particular to fig1 is shown , a portable venting commode , identified in general by the reference numeral 10 . the commode 10 is intended to be placed over a conventional flush - type toilet ( not shown ), of the type that are well known devices which are permanently installed in bathrooms in homes everywhere . it includes a frame structure 12 with handles 14 to use in carrying it . it can double as a walker and help a person reach the conventional flush - toilet in the bathroom . when reaching the conventional flush - toilet , the conventional toilet cover ( not shown ) is raised and a conventional toilet seat ( see reference numeral 16 shown in dashed lines in fig4 ) that is attached to the conventional flush - toilet is lowered . the commode 10 is then placed over the flush - toilet so a chute 18 passes through an opening provided in the conventional toilet seat 16 . the chute 18 is cylindrical in shape and is open at both ends thereof . it is attached along a first end to a toilet seat 20 . the toilet seat 20 includes a center opening 21 and it is attached to the frame structure 12 of the commode 10 . referring now also to fig2 the chute 18 is omitted from the view to better reveal details of the toilet seat 20 . its general location ( where it is attached ) is shown by a dashed circle and by the reference numeral “ 18 ”. within the space encircled by the chute 18 , an opening 22 is formed through the rear of the seat 20 and it extends in the seat 20 to a rear vent assembly , identified in general by the reference numeral 24 . the rear vent assembly 24 includes a “ t ” fitting 26 and it can be used to exhaust vapors from the space inside the chute 18 ( when the commode 10 is disposed over the conventional type of a toilet ) to an exterior location , as is described in greater detail hereinafter . the t fitting 26 includes a first discharge opening 28 and an opposite second discharge opening 30 . the second opening 30 includes a removable plug 32 . the removable plug 30 prevents air from entering the second discharge opening 30 or vapors from exiting at that location . the first and second discharge openings 28 , 30 include threaded ends to facilitate connection thereto of a vent hose 34 , partially shown in fig2 . if it is preferable to connect the vent hose 34 to the second discharge opening 30 instead of the first 28 , the plug 32 is removed from the second opening 30 , and a first end 36 of the vent hose 34 is attached to the t fitting 26 at the second opening 30 . the plug 32 is then applied to the first opening 28 to seal it instead . referring now also to fig3 the chute 18 includes an upper taper 38 , as necessary to ensure that it fully covers ( i . e ., encircles ) the opening 22 in the seat 20 . the rest of the chute 18 is straight so that when it is placed inside the conventional toilet seat 16 , the outer diameter of the chute 18 forms an effective seal with the inside diameter of the opening provided in the conventional toilet seat 16 . as the height of legs 40 of the frame structure 12 can be adjusted to suit the user ( not shown ), it is not possible to know the exact depth that the chute 18 will penetrate the opening in the conventional toilet seat 16 . accordingly , the straight sides of the chute 18 ensure an effective fit with the opening in the conventional toilet seat 16 regardless of the relative height between the two . if desired , an additional layer 42 is added under the seat 20 to cover the opening 22 as it extends toward the rear vent assembly 24 . the additional layer 42 can also be formed integral with the chute 18 , if desired . referring now to fig4 a modified chute 50 is attached to a modified seat 51 that includes a tapered cone - like profile . the modified seat 51 does not include the rear opening 22 . the modified seat 51 is similarly attached to the frame structure 12 in place of the seat 20 and chute 18 , as described hereinabove . a flexible ring 52 fits over the exterior of the modified chute 50 and it provides a seal intermediate the modified chute 50 and the conventional toilet seat 16 , regardless of how the legs 40 of the commode 10 are adjusted . the flexible ring 52 can expand or contract as desired so that it can be urged up or down over the modified chute 50 along its longitudinal length . the modified chute 50 includes an elbow fitting 54 that allows for connection of the vent hose 34 thereto . referring again to fig1 a dc brushless low power motor / fan assembly 56 is attached to the frame structure 12 . a second end of the vent hose 34 is attached thereto . a battery pack 58 is attached to the frame structure 12 and it supplies the electrical energy to run the fan assembly 56 . a switch 60 is used to turn the fan assembly 56 on and off , as desired . the switch 60 may be a mechanical switch such as a toggle switch or it can be a motion detector , such as an infrared or other type of motion ( or presence ) detector that scans the area over the seat 20 and turns the fan assembly 56 on while someone is disposed on the seat 20 and possibly for a limited time thereafter , and then shuts it off . a second flexible vent hose 62 is attached to the fan assembly 56 at a discharge location thereof and is used to conduct vapors to a location away from the commode 10 where the odor of the vapors will not offend . a preferred way to accomplish this is to provide a discharge assembly 64 through an exterior wall of the structure and attach the second hose 62 thereto . arrows 66 indicate the vapors being discharged away from the commode 10 . another preferred way is to eliminate the second hose 62 and to interface to the venting system , identified by the reference numeral 68 and shown in dashed lines . the system 68 is described in greater detail in pending patent application ser . no . 09 / 685 , 411 filed on oct . 10 , 2000 by the same inventor . when the system 68 is used , the first vent hose 34 is merely connected to a port 70 that is provided in the system 68 for that purpose . this connection is shown in fig1 in dashed lines . the vapors are then sucked out ( i . e ., by a partial vacuum ) by the system 68 motor ( not shown ) that is distally located . the vapors enter into the port 70 where they are conducted through system piping ( not shown ) to the system 68 motor for discharge in accordance with the installation of the system 68 . if desired , the system 68 need not be used . an alternative way to use the portable venting commode 10 is to attach a remote motor 72 that is shown in dashed lines surrounding the discharge assembly 64 . the remote motor 72 may be installed in the exterior wall or it may be located outside . it is powered by a dc power supply that converts household 120 vac power into dc to power the dc brushless remote motor 72 . all of the preferred embodiments rely upon the use of some sort of a dc brushless motor attached to a fan so as to eliminate sparks from arising when the motor turns on or off that could potentially ignite the vapors . also , these types of motors consume very little electrical energy . their low power consumption makes them suitable even for continuous duty operation ( i . e ., being left on all the time ) as well as being powered by the battery pack 58 . finally , it is noted that the seat 20 and the modified seat 51 are rigidly attached to the frame structure 12 of the commode 10 , and therefore , do not move in relation thereto . referring now to fig5 when the user is unable to travel to the bathroom and therefore is unable to use the commode 10 , a solution that is disposed nearer to the user must be provided . for this purpose , a modified type of a portable venting commode , identified in general by the reference numeral 100 , that is intended for independent use ( not for placement over the conventional flush - type of toilet ) is provided . the modified commode 100 includes a modified frame structure 102 ( shown partially in dashed lines ) that supports a modified toilet seat 104 . only a portion of the modified toilet seat 104 is shown . the unseen remainder is consistent with other types of toilet seats except for the component parts of the invention and the component parts of the instant invention merely continue as shown so as to extend and to encircle the area that is missing from the view in the fig5 drawing . the modified toilet seat 104 includes hinges 106 and it is adapted to pivot about an axis over a removable container 108 that is used to collect human waste matter therein . the modified frame structure 102 includes a pair of rails 110 that are used to support and to properly align the container 108 under a toilet seat opening 112 when the modified toilet seat 104 is disposed in a lower position ( i . e ., over the container 108 ). the container 108 resembles a pail and it includes a bottom 114 that can contain fluids and waste matter therein . in normal use , a small quantity of water is placed in the container prior to defecation by the user . the modified toilet seat 104 includes a container seal 116 that is attached to the bottom thereof by brackets 118 and screws 120 . the container seal 116 takes up any space intermediate the bottom of the modified toilet seat 104 and the top of the container 108 when the modified toilet seat 104 is disposed in the lower position . the container seal 116 includes a seal opening 122 in the rear thereof . a modified rear vent assembly 124 is disposed to the rear of the modified frame structure 102 . the modified rear vent assembly 124 includes a frontal opening 126 that aligns with and abuts the seal opening 122 when the modified toilet seat 104 is disposed in the lower position . the modified rear vent assembly 124 is similar to the vent assembly 24 as was described hereinabove for use with the commode 10 . accordingly , the vent hose 34 is shown attached to the motor / fan assembly 56 proximate the battery pack 58 . the second flexible vent hose 62 is shown attached to the fan assembly 56 . any of the configurations involving location of the motor fan assembly 56 , discharge of vapors , and use of the system 68 , as described hereinabove for use with the commode 10 , apply also for use with the modified commode 100 . if the remote motor 72 is used with the modified commode 100 , it may be desirable to leave it running all of the time . this will ensure that even when no one is sitting on the modified toilet seat 104 or using the modified commode 100 , that odors ( i . e ., vapors ) that persist in the container 108 will be removed from the room in which the modified commode 100 is disposed . it is also noted that a modified toilet seat cover ( not shown ) is typically used with the modified commode 100 and it is adapted to pivot as well about the axis and to cover the modified toilet seat 104 and hide the contents of the container 108 from view after waste matter has been deposited in the container 108 . when the modified toilet seat cover is disposed in a lower position ( i . e ., over the modified toilet seat 104 ), it provides a seal that helps to prevent vapors ( i . e ., odors ) from leaving the area proximate the container 108 and entering into the room where the modified commode 100 is located . if the remote motor 72 is used and if it is left running all of the time with the modified commode 100 , then virtually no odors can escape or be detected and the modified commode 100 can be left proximate the user ( and any visitors ) without embarrassment . normally , a caregiver ( not shown ) will eventually remove the container 108 , empty the contents of the container 108 into a conventional flush - type toilet , clean the container 108 of any residue fecal matter that may adhere to its sides , add more water thereto , and return it to the modified commode 100 for subsequent reuse . accordingly , the modified commode 100 provides for truly portable and independent use by the user . it may be placed proximate the user without causing excessive unpleasant odors . the second vent hose 62 may be temporarily placed through an opening provided by partially opening a window ( not shown ) or a door ( not shown ), if preferred . referring now to fig6 a child &# 39 ; s portable venting commode 200 is shown in a partially exploded view with a child &# 39 ; s seat 202 elevated above a base 204 . a cup 206 collects waste matter and is removable . a channel 208 conducts vapors to a rear fitting 210 . the vent hose 34 ( not shown in this view ) is attached thereto as are the other component parts as are described hereinabove . accordingly , it is shown that the instant invention is adaptable to any size as needed . the invention has been shown , described , and illustrated in substantial detail with reference to the presently preferred embodiment . it will be understood by those skilled in this art that other and further changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined by the claims appended hereto .

0Human Necessities

in accordance with the drawings , the continuously operating press 1 according to the invention comprises , as its main components , upper and lower individual bars 19 and 20 and tensioning brackets 13 connecting them in a positively - locking manner . the tensioning brackets 13 can be released quickly from the lower individual bar 19 via eyelets 23 by means of the bolts 24 . the individual bars 19 and 20 comprise web plates 15 and 16 , respectively , and transverse ribs 18 connecting the latter . in each case , two web plates 15 and 16 are connected by means of two tensioning brackets 13 and the openings 25 thereof to form an individual frame 22 . each individual frame 22 is in turn connected in a positively - locking manner over the length of the press to lower and upper press heating plates 33 and 34 . entry crossbeams 21 and exit crossbeams 43 are arranged at the end sides of press table 2 and press ram 3 , and serve as an anchoring and bearing location for drive rollers 7 and 8 , deflecting rollers 9 and 10 and double - jointed entry systems 17 for roll bars 12 . it can further be seen from fig1 and 5 that the deflecting rollers 9 and 10 form the entry nip 11 and the roll bars 12 , which are guided with steel bands 5 and 6 around the press table 2 and the press ram 3 , and are supported against the press heating plates 33 and 34 . that is , the revolving roll bars 12 , as an example of a rolling support , are arranged between the press heating plates 33 and 34 and the steel bands 5 and 6 so as to roll along with the steel bands 5 and 6 . furthermore , it is preferred that the press heating plates are attached at one end to the entry crossbeam 21 and at the other end to the exit crossbeam 43 . material 4 is drawn in through press nip 14 together with the steel bands 5 and 6 ( see fig3 and 5 ), which are driven by the drive rollers 7 and 8 , and is pressed into boards . in order to drive the transverse deformation of the lower press heating plate 33 , hydraulic short - stroke cylinders 29 with short - stroke plunger pistons 30 are arranged beneath the press heating plate 33 and assigned to each individual frame 22 . the cylinders 29 are supported on web plates 15 of the press table 2 . the preloading forces of the steel bands 5 and 6 between the entry and exit drum systems are expediently taken up as compressive force by four support carriers 36 . the individual frames 22 on the two support carriers 36 anchored in the base 37 rest , according to the invention , on rolling wheel segments 38 . the rolling wheel segments 38 with sliding pins 39 mounted thereon are each mounted in a supporting structure 35 , which is in turn fastened on the lower web plates 15 . rolling wheel segment 38 has a bore with a sliding bearing surface 45 , in which sliding pin 39 is mounted . a thermally fixed reference point 40 , located directly behind the double - jointed entry system 17 , is provided as a fixing and anchoring point for the press heating plates 33 and 34 , so that the double - jointed entry system 17 can be adjusted freely and independently of the thermal expansions of the continuously operating press 1 . since the double - jointed entry system 17 is anchored at the entry cross - beams 21 , the entry - crossbeams 21 define the thermally fixed reference point 40 . in the event of longitudinal thermal expansion of the upper and lower press heating plates 33 and 34 from room temperature to production temperature , they expand freely from the thermal zero point ( or the fixed reference point 40 ) backwards in the direction of transport . if the production temperature falls , the press 1 contracts in the direction of the fixed reference point 40 . in accordance with the dimensioning rule , the sliding movement in the sliding pin 39 with the radius r and the rolling movement of the rolling wheel segment 38 with the radius r result in a rolling support movement which is adapted to a severe operating mode and is additionally dirt - insensitive on the lower support carrier 36 . technically , this continuously operating press system is divided into two functional paths . first , there is a front entry region a1 , in which a mechanism for on - line adjustment of the press nip 14 with various entry angles is provided . the entry angle in the entry region a1 narrows constantly in the direction of transport with a relatively steep angle gradient . second , there is an actual pressing path a2 . within the pressing path a2 , the press nip 14 between the press heating plates 33 and 34 changes with a relatively small angle gradient , compared to the entry region a1 . at the same time , very high pressures of the press are generated within the pressing path a2 directly after the entry region a1 . due to the sensitivity of the entry region a1 to the pressing path a2 , the thermal fixed reference point 40 for this sliding , continuously operating press 1 is advantageously fixed immediately after the front entry region a1 , so that it is not possible for interfering longitudinal movements from the pressing path a2 to affect the entry region a1 . the continuously operating press 1 according to the invention is also particularly suitable for an on - the - fly production change in on - line control . as an example , in the event the board thicknesses needs to be varied between 2 . 5 mm and 38 mm , this requires a change in the temperature in the region of the pressing path of about 30 ° celsius , e . g ., from 210 ° celsius to 240 ° celsius . irrespective of the temperature changes , the individual frames 22 are connected to the press heating plates 33 and 34 at the top and bottom and , in accordance with the elongation due to thermal expansion of the press heating plates 33 and 34 , slide on the lower support carriers 36 . the individual frames 22 thus move freely between the two upper and the two lower support carriers 36 . the support carriers 36 are connected by means of buckling support 41 vertically and horizontally in order to maintain a buckleproof bracing between entry and exit crossbeams 21 and 43 . furthermore , it can be seen from fig1 that the entry and exit crossbeams 21 and 43 , together with the four support carriers 36 and the buckling support 41 thereof , form a closed tented frame 44 . in accordance with fig1 another improvement of the continuously operating press 1 further consists in the fact that the double - jointed entry system 17 can move freely in front of the thermal fixed reference point 40 in the direction of entry crossbeam 21 and , independently of this , hydraulic actuators 42 for the double - jointed entry system 17 carry out the operational movements with regard to controlling the entry angle in the entry region a1 . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification be considered as exemplary only , with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims . the entire contents of german patent application de 196 22 204 . 4 , filed jun . 3 , 1996 , are hereby incorporated by reference .

1Performing Operations; Transporting